Second Chances
by TheKiss
Summary: A girl from the team's past come back to get them out of trouble, but what's the real reason why she left? Set before and after TFATF. Vince/OFC, Brian/Mia, Dom/Letty, possibly others. Smut has arrived!
1. Guardian Angel, to the rescue!

**_A/N: Usual disclaimers apply the the whole story. I ain't writing it at the start of every damn chapter._**

**_This had been bouncing around my head for a while, and finally managed to escape. I can't guarantee superfast updates, but I'll try. _**

**_I sat down and tried to work out the ages and timelines for this story, but if you notice any discrepancies, let me know and I'll fix them. Based on the fact that Brian says to the EMT's that Vince is 24, I've decided that Dom is also 24, Dom being older. Leon, Brian, Han and Letty are all 22, with Letty being youngest. Jesse and Mia are 20, with Jesse being younger. Raeka is 21, and Alex is 26._**

**_I liked it, but 2Fast2Furious doesn't happen, not sure about Tokyo Drift just yet._**

**_Reviews are always welcome. Enjoy!_**

He felt like he was floating, bodiless, nameless, worry-free. It was kinda nice.

Then a voice started calling to him, causing him to slowly open his eyes.

"Vince? Vince? Can you hear me?" then, to someone else, "Can he hear me? Is he okay?"

"Mia?" he croaked, opening his eyes to see her standing over him, looking tired and worried, although for the moment she had a weak smile on her face.

"Yeah, Vince,"

"What happened? Where am I? Where's Dom? Is he okay?!" Vince said, the events of the last couple days coming back to him. The heist, getting shot, winding up in the hospital where the bitchy nurse sedated him 'cause he wouldn't stop yelling at people. He tried to sit up, but the nice floaty-feeling vanished, and pain shot through his abdomen.

"Shhhh, it's okay. You're in the hospital, do you remember what happened?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, I fucked up, and got shot. What happened to the others?" he asked.

"Letty, Leon and Dom made it down to Mexico. Jesse…he got shot up pretty bad by Tran, the doc's don't know if he'll make it." Mia sniffled.

"Shit! What about Spilner? He saved my ass didn't he?" Vince sighed.

"Yeah, but we can talk about that later. The cops are all over this. Dom called in help to try and stop the three of us from getting locked up. Don't say _anything_ to them, Vince, and try to be nice to the nurses, if you start screaming again they're not gonna let anyone visit, okay?" Mia warned.

"Wait, who'd Dom call that could get us outta this shit?" Vince asked frowning, drawing a blank.

Mia gave him an eye roll, "Letty's cousin, Alex, remember? Rae's big brother. He's a lawyer now, and he's trying to do some damage control and clean this mess up. Rae's gone to talk to Dom and the others, but she'll be up here in a day or two. It'll be so great to see her! It's been what, like two years since she left? I miss her so much!" Mia gushed, excitedly.

"Three," Vince corrected groggily as the painkillers kicked in.

"Well, whatever. I hope the others aren't too pissed at her. I wonder what she's like now? I mean, all we got was that call from Alex a couple months after she left sayin' she was okay but that she needed space. Just be nice, okay?" she pleaded as he began to drift off again, "She's our guardian angel in all this,"

_Angel? Yeah right. _Vince thought as he began to loose consciousness. _More like demon._

* * *

She walked along the crumbling sidewalk, her flip-flops thwapping her feet with each step. The sun beat down on her, making her sweat in her jeans and tight t-shirt. _Jeans in Mexico. Real smart, girl._

She checked each of the numbers on the houses as she passed by, looking for her destination. She stopped outside of a small three-story hotel and double-checked the name. _Yup, this is it._The building was slightly run-down, with the terracotta colored plaster siding chipped and crumbling in places, and bougainvillea growning with abandon over the balconies. It had what could be called 'rustic charm'. Or not.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this, to see them again. She didn't know if they'd forgive her for running out on them like she did. She didn't have any excuses for staying away so long, at least none she want to tell _them_, but she refused to lie to them.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the cool, shadowy entry way and asked the young girl standing at the desk which room they were staying in, using the fake name Dom had given her brother, and then made her way up to the room.

Before she could chicken out, she knocked on the door, then took a step back.

"Who is it?" a muffled voice asked.

"It's Raeka, Letty." She replied.

The door was flung open, but before she could even register the fact, she was tackled in a fierce hug, only to be shoved away by a suddenly angry Letty.

"Where the fuck have you been? You think you can just waltz back here and everything'll be okay?! I can believe you cut-out on us, cuz!" Letty yelled, storming back into the room and slamming the door.

Rae blinked in surprise. _Well that went well. At least she didn't hit me._

A second later, the door opened and Dominic stood there, filling the doorway. She hadn't seen him since he got sent to Lompc. He'd always been a big guy, like his dad, but he must of spent his time inside lifting weights cause he was frickin' _huge!_

"Look Dom, I'm just here to help. My brother sent me here to get the details okay? I don't want trouble," she said.

He looked at her for a moment, then seeing the honesty in her eyes, nodded, stepping out of the doorway and letting her pass. Leon nodded at her from where he was leaning against the counter of the kitchenette.

"_You_ don't want trouble? That's a new one!" Letty laughed darkly from where she was sulking on the couch.

"Oh yeah, and you three are just takin' a vacation down here, huh?" Rae retorted.

Letty just glared.

"Look, why don't you just tell me everything that happened, including how it all got fucked up, then we can figure out what to do."

* * *

Rae whistled. "_Damn! _And I thought _I_ was the screw-up of the family!"

Leon laughed at the look on Letty's face.

"D'you think Alex can help?" Dom asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I guess. I assume you don't want to plead out?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"If it'll get Vince, Mia or Jesse of the hook, _I_ will," Dom replied pointedly. He wouldn't the others take the fall for him.

"From what Alex was saying, it won't make much difference. Promise me you three will stay here until this gets sorted out? If you go back, you'll make their case for them. They haven't got anything on Jesse, his computer drives were wiped, and all they've got on Mia is obstruction, although they might try and make a bigger deal out of it. Vince is the only one they've got solid evidence on, but Alex said he's working on that."

" 'Working on that.' You mean like a cover-up?" Leon asked.

"It's not his normal way of handling things, but the truth is you guys are as guilty as sin, and the only way you're gonna get out of this without doing time is if he plays dirty. It's your choice," she shrugged; unhappy about what her brother would have to do.

Dominic thought for a moment, then nodded. "What can we do?"

"I need the names of everyone you dealt with, everyone who can link you with the heists. We need access to the accounts with the money in them, silence doesn't come cheap. We need names of anyone in the area who will cover for you, give you alibis," she counted off on her fingers, running through the list her brother had giving her before she flew down. "Here's a pre-paid phone. My cell and Alex's are already in the phonebook. Don't call anyone else. If you need to speak to someone, call us and we'll set it up, we can't risk you being traced."

"Damn, that's a lot," Letty murmured.

"Yeah, well, I'm just the messenger," Rae replied.

"You think he can pull it off?" Leon asked in his gravelly voice.

"If anyone can, it's Alejandro. Call him when you have the list, I'm flying back out in two hours." She looked at them, "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah girl. Where ya been?" Letty asked quietly.

Rae looked at them and sighed. _Here goes nothin'_

"I know that I shouldn't have left. I realised quickly that runnin' off without a word was worse than what I did at the races, but it didn't feel like it at the time," she shrugged, "I messed up."

"Yeah, but your note said you'd only be gone for a couple weeks, you were gone for three damn _years!_ What the hell happened? Did you get lost or something?" Dom rumbled.

"I guess you could say that. After I left, I drove up to San Francisco, and got a job working as a waitress. I meant to come home after that, but," she took a deep breath, "I hand a one-night stand with this guy I met at work, and he knocked me up. I've got a kid now, a little girl, Bella. She's with Alex's wife just now."

They stared at her in shock.

"You got a _kid?_" Letty asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I stayed with Alex, got a job, and had Ella. I know I should have called, but I didn't. I didn't know what to say."

Letty nodded.

"How long you gonna hang around this time, Rae?" Dom asked.

"I don't know. I'll stay 'till this gets sorted, maybe 'till Jesse gets outta the hospital, I don't want to get in anyone's way," she looked down.

"Are you kidding?" Leon asked. "We're just glad to hear you're okay! One call from your brother three years ago does _not_ let us know how you're doin'" Leon grumbled. Rae smiled at him. The two of them had good friends back when she stayed in L.A., although he hadn't moved in with the Toretto's at that point.

"Sorry, Le."

"You're gonna stick around long enough that I can met my niece, ain't ya?" Letty demanded.

Rae looked at Dom, who nodded, smiling. "Yeah, definitely."

She chatted with them for a while longer, catching up. She told them about Bella and her life in Chicago, and they told her how things had been going in L.A., about how Han had got into some trouble with the Trans, and was kickin' back in Tokyo. She had sensed some tension between Letty and Dom, but didn't ask.

Too soon, she had to leave, and after bone-crunching hugs from all of them, she made her way outside and hailed a cab for the airport. Meeting with them had gone better than she had expected. Although she hadn't quite been forgiven, they were at least giving her a second chance, which was more than she'd ever hoped for.

She thought about the others back in L.A. Jesse would forgive her anything, she knew; Mia too, although she'd make her work for it. Vince would be the problem. Because he knew the real reason why she left, and he obviously wasn't telling, which meant he probably wouldn't be too happy to see her again.

She knew he hated her; he pretty much had every right, although she was still pissed at him too. She knew that if she stayed around long enough, all her dirty little secrets would come out, but she had promised her brother she would try and make things right with the team after they had done so much for her.

_If only he knew._


	2. Don't Ask, Don't Tell

**_A/N: Thanks to 2furious4u for the review of the last chapter, and thank you to everyone who put me and/or this story on their alert list. Part of this story takes place before the movie, part after. It's going to go between the two, hopefully it will be clear. Let me know if it's not. Think of it as two story lines, intertwined. Other than that, they'll be linear, i.e. the parts from before will be told in order, as will the parts from after. This starts when Rae is 14, Mia is 13, Letty, Leon and Han are 15, and Vince and Dom are 17. ish._**

**_Happy birthday to Jordana Brewster!_**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

At the young age of fourteen, Raeka had discovered something very important.

Life Sucked.

She was standing next to her Grandmother and her older cousin Letty, neither of whom she'd met before, and was waving good-bye to her big brother Alejandro.

Yep, life sucked.

Her grandmother turned to her, a look on her face like she smelled something bad. "I don't want no trouble from you, you hear me girl? Dinner's at seven. Letty, keep her outta trouble." With that, the old women stomped back inside the rickety two-storey that Rae was now supposed to call home. _Yeah, right._

Letty turned to her, looking her from head-to-toe. "You like cars, right?" she asked.

"Sorta," Rae answered evasively.

"Fine. You can come with me. But you better be cool and not embarrass me," she added, giving Rae warning look.

"Where are we going?" Rae asked, following her older cousin as they walked briskly down the street.

"Toretto's Garage. Mr. Toretto is pretty cool, he lets us hang around, as long as we don't get in the way. He races on the pro-stock circuit, he's got a whole crew that work outta the garage in the season, but the rest of the time he fixes up cars. He lets us help out sometimes," she rushed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"We?" Rae asked, frowning.

"Yeah, there's a couple of us that hang there. Leon and Han are pretty cool, they're foster brothers, at least for the moment. Dom and Mia are Mr. Toretto's kids, and there's Vince, Dom's best friend, he practically lives with them," she said, counting them off on her fingers.

The walked a couple blocks until they reach a square building with the sign 'Toretto's Racing and Auto Repair'.

They walked in through the open garage door and we immediately confronted with the loud guitar tones of Led Zeppelin, and the roar of engines.

"Yo, Mr. T! I brought a friend who likes cars 'round. Is that okay?" Letty yelled into the busy garage.

A large, barrel-chested man of about forty raised his head from under the hood of a nearby car, grumbling, "How many times do I gotta tell you Letty? Don't call me Mr. T. It makes me sound like the guy from the A-Team," at the girl's blank looks, he shook his head. "It's fine Letty, but you gotta stay out back, we're real busy today, okay?"

Letty nodded, grabbing Rae's had and pulling her through the hot garage and out the back door. The scene that greeted them out there wasn't much different from the one they had just left.

Two guys were leaning over the engine of a lime green car, and from their position; Rae couldn't see what they looked like. A pretty dark-haired girl a little younger than Rae herself was sitting on a stack of old tyres, her nose in a book. _That must be Mia._

Two boys about Letty's age, fifteen, were arguing over an engine part, waving screwdrivers around as they gestured wildly. One was tall, but gawky looking, with light brown hair and blue eyes. The other one was Asian, also tall, with shaggy black hair falling into his face. _I'm guessing that's Han._

"Hey, Dom!" Letty called, "I brought my cousin Rae around. Is that okay?"

"Whatever," a low voice answered from the car. Letty frowned at his casual dismissal.

Another voice added, "Yeah it'll be nice to have another guy around here, maybe your cousin can stop you from buggin' us all the time."

"Shut the fuck up, Vince!" Letty glowered at one of the backs. The two younger guys, Leon and Han, took one look at Rae and started laughing. Wondering what all the fuss was about, Dom and Vince raised their heads and looked over at where Letty was standing with her hands on her hips. The person standing next to her was obviously _not_ a guy, even though she was as flat chested as one, wearing baggy jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. The long black hair kinda gave her away, though.

"_That's_ your cousin?" Vince asked, obviously unimpressed. He was tall, with broad shoulders that he hadn't quite grown into yet. "What kinda name is Ray for a girl?"

Letty opened her mouth, but Rae answered first. "R-A-E. As in Raeka." Vince just stared, surprised that the tiny girl in front of him had answered back so angrily.

Dom raised an eyebrow, then asked, "Do you know about cars?"

She shrugged, repeating the same answer she gave Letty, "Sorta,"

"What does _sorta_ mean?" Dom asked.

"It means she knows which side supposed to go forward, man. She doesn't know squat, she's a chick." Vince sneered, pissing Rae off enough that she spoke before she could think.

"I don't know jack-shit 'bout engines, but I drive pretty good, and I know which cars are worth stealing," They all stopped what they were doing and Mia even closed her book, finding that real life, for the moment, was more interesting.

"_You_ steal cars?" Dom asked, his tone showing that he obviously didn't believe it.

She shrugged, "Used to. My brother made me promise I'd stop, or else he'd kick my ass."

"You steal any of my dad's cars, he'll kill ya," Dom warned, still not believing that the dark haired kid in front of him could pull it off.

"Don't worry," she shrugged, "I ain't got a hook-up in town anyway."

Leon let out a gravelly laugh at that. "You're not from here, then?" Han asked softly.

"Nah, she's from Chicago, but she's livin' with me and Abuela now. I gotta share a room," Letty grumbled.

"What, you parents didn't want you anymore? They just dumped there like Letty's ma did, I bet," Vince laughed.

Letty's face went pale. There were two 'clicks' as Leon and Han set down their tools and stood up. Rae remembered that they were foster kids, and were obviously angry at what Vince had said. It was Mia that surprised them all though, jumping off of her makeshift seat, shouting, "Just because you're having a shitty time at home doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else!"

Vince just shrugged and turned back to the engine.

"It was my choice," Rae said, causing their heads to swivel towards her from Mia. "My brother got a scholarship to university, and we decided that it would be best if he went, then he could get a decent job. But he can't work, and study, and look after me at the same time, so he asked Abuela to look after me 'till he can. He's gonna send money and everything. He didn't want to leave me, but I told him to go," her tone was proud, of both her brother and herself.

"What about your folks?" Mia asked quietly.

Letty shot her a _shut-up!_ look. Rae just shrugged.

At that moment, Mr. Toretto came out holding a can of soda.

"Hey Mr.T.," Letty said, ignoring what he said earlier, and jumping on the distraction, "This is my cousin, Rae. She used to steal cars in Chicago, but she doesn't any more. It's still okay if she hangs out here, right?"

Mr. Toretto looked at her in surprise, "Why'd you steal cars, kid? Money?"

She shook her head. "I liked driving, but my parents only had a crapped-out Toyota. This kid in my class showed me how to boost cars, and his Tio Olivero would give me money for them. I like fast cars," she added.

"You know anything 'bout fixin' them up?" he asked.

"Oli tried to teach me once, but he decided I'm jinxed." At the horrified looks, the added, "I'm not _a_ jinx, I don't _cause_ accidents, it's just that if I try to fix anything myself, I just make it worse. I don't mind that much, I just like to drive."

Mr. Toretto nodded. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen," she said, lifting her chin a little.

He chuckled, "Well, you've still got a couple years 'till you can get your license, and I won't have you driving any of my cars 'till you can do it _legal_, understand?" She nodded. "You can stay. No more kids, though. I ain't runnin' a day care here, got it?" She nodded again. "Good. Dominic, how's it goin'?" he asked his son, moving to stand over the engine as he listened intently to his son.

Letty went over to work with Leon and Han, although every few minutes she would shoot Dom a longing look. _Someone's got a cruuuuush!_

Mia came over to Rae and asked, "Do you wanna paint with me? My dad said I could paint what ever I wanted on the wall over there, but I can't think of anything," she frowned.

Rae looked around, and realising she didn't have anything better to do, she shrugged, saying, "Well, what kind of things do you like?"

Her face brightened, "I like dolphins. And cats. And dogs. I like all animals, I guess!" she laughed. "I want to study to be a vet at college," she confided.

They started by drawing to animals on the wall first with pencil, and as they were doing it, they talked. It turned out Mia was almost a year younger than Rae, but that they would be in the same year at school because Mia had recently been moved forwards a grade. It also seemed that Mia knew everything that went on with her friends, like how Vince was having trouble at home, about home Letty was _so_ into Dom (which Mia found disgusting, because he was a moron), and about how Han was freaking out because his six-month placement was nearly up and he didn't want to leave.

Rae was surprised to find that she was actually enjoying herself. Her cousin seemed okay, if a little temperamental (not that _she_ could talk), and Letty's friends seemed okay, for the most part. Even though all the guys were big, they seemed real nice and laid-back, except Vince. He was the only one that scared her. Mia insisted that he was usually okay, but Rae wasn't sure.

As Mia was laying out the paints, Rae unthinkingly removed her hooded sweatshirt, leaving her in an old t-shirt she didn't mind getting paint on. Mia turned around and gasped, dropping the paint can she was holding, sending it clattering across the ground.

Rae quickly pulled the sweatshirt back on, but not before everyone got a good look at the big, angry pink scars criss-crossing her forearms.

"What was _that_? Did you try to kill yourself or somethin'?" Vince asked, no malice in his tone this time, just unthinking curiosity.

"Vincent!" Mr. Toretto bellowed, but it was too late, Rae had run off round the corner, quickly followed by Letty and Mia.

"What?" Vince asked, confused. Dom, Han and Leon just shook their heads, and Mr. T. took Vince round the building to have a little chat about the nature of the word 'tact'.

* * *

Somehow, Rae managed to get far enough ahead of Letty and Mia that she would have gotten home before them, if she hadn't gotten lost. Mia and Letty, slightly concerned and out of breath, found her sitting on the kerb one block over from her grandmother's house.

Not saying anything at first, they sat down on either side of her. "I can kick his ass if you want," Letty offered. At Rae at Mia's sceptical look, she amended, "Well, I could at least try. I don't think he'd hit a girl, so that'd give me the advantage."

Rae just smiled softly. After a moment, Mia asked, "Do they hurt?"

"Not anymore," meaning, of course, that they had at one point. A lot.

There was another quiet moment. "How did it happen?" Mia asked again, ignoring the warning look Letty was sending her. Letty's Abuela had told her what happened, and although she didn't think it had happened quiet as her grandmother told it, she got the general gist, and it was definitely _not_ something Mia wanted to know about.

Rae's answer was simple though. "Glass."

"Yeah, but that's not what I meant," Mia said, believing the older girl had misunderstood the question. "I meant _how_…"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Rae suddenly yelled, leaping up from the kerb. "Just leave me alone okay! I don't need some _little girl_ bugging me okay? So fuck off!" she screamed, running off, luckily in the right direction.

Mia sat in shock for a second, sniffled once then ran off in the opposite direction. Letty sat for a moment, then took off after her cousin, seriously doubting the girl's ability to find her way home.

* * *

After Letty had found her and led her back to the house without a word, Rae went up to their room and unpacked her stuff. Not that she had much, just enough clothes to last her a while and a box full of her photos and stuff. She took out a dog-eared picture and stroked the faces in longing.

It showed her, a couple years younger, smiling a toothy grin at the camera, standing next to a tall hansom teenage boy, her brother Alejandro. Behind them was a tall, good looking man with kind eyes and a shorter Asian woman with a beautiful face and a loving smile.

"Is that your folks?" Letty asked from behind her. Rae nodded. "Your mom's real pretty." She had, of course, seen the photo of her father's graduation on the wall downstairs. "Look, I won't tell anyone, but I want to know what happened. Abuela told me…something, but it didn't sound quite right. Please? I won't bug you again after this."

Rae looked at her for a moment, then nodded, realising she needed a friend who would understand her weird mood swings.

So she told her.

* * *

"Damn," Letty said, sounding sick. "I…_shit._ I don't know what to say." Rae just nodded glumly. "Look, about Mia…She's nosey as hell, but she's a good kid. She didn't mean nothin' by it, she was just trying to be a friend, okay?" Rae nodded again. "If I make sure the others don't bother you about it, will you come back again?" Rae paused, thinking, then nodded a third time. "Okay, I'm goin' back over. Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rae asked, looking again at the photo. Letty stood in the doorway again looking at her little cousin, then left.

Letty was right. She didn't have to tell Mia what happened, but she shouldn't have snapped at her like she did. She needed to say sorry, but the thing was, she'd never been any good at actually _saying_ the words. So she needed to think of someway to _show_ she was sorry.

* * *

To say Vince was having a bad day would be putting it mildly. After a morning of snapped orders and awkward silences, he'd come to the shop to relax. Only the _fuckin_' car wouldn't stay fixed, and then that _fuckin_' kid had shown up, giving him lip, then Mr. T. had taken him aside and given him a _fuckin_' earful about what he'd said, then Mia had turned up, red-eyed, and when he politely asked her what was wrong, she _fuckin_' screamed at him and run off.

Then Letty had come back and gave him another earful along with telling the rest of them to leave off askin' her cousin anything. Then he'd gone home and his dad had been drunk again, and his ma was nowhere to be found. Again. Now he had a black eye, and nowhere to go 'till his dad passed out. He couldn't go to Dom's, cause his dad would ask about the bruise.

He walked around for a while, and found himself outside Toretto's, deciding he could find something to do 'round back, he made his way to the rear of the garage, only to be stopped dead in his tracks.

The outside storage locker was open, and one of the lights was propped awkwardly to illuminate one of the painted brick walls. Rae was crouched on the ground, painting in what appeared to be a Labrador, muttering under her breath about 'damn fuckin' dogs'.

She wasn't wearing her sweatshirt again, and he could see the half-healed scars on her skinny arms, the shiny skin catching the light. As he was watching, her hands froze, and he looked back at her face to find her looking at his black eye. They looked at each other for a moment, and then she turned back to her would-be-mural.

The next day when he went over to the garage, he lied about the bruise, saying he got into a fight with some random punks. He found Rae and Mia finishing up the mural, laughing together.

Neither of them mentioned the night before, coming to an unspoken agreement. _Don't ask, don't tell. Just like the fuckin' army._


	3. Old Friends

**_A/N: Okay, so I didn't get any feedback on the last chapter. (Sniff). Well, I'm gonna keep writing anyway. Here's the next chapter, it's a little sedate, but...there ya go. Thanks to everyone who put this story on their alerts list, though._**

**_Reviews, even constructive criticism, are welcome. Enjoy!_**

* * *

"Mia, we need to talk," Brian, pleaded, following the willowy woman as she walked briskly along the sidewalk.

"I can't just now, okay?" she replied without turning.

Brian stopped, running a hand through his already tousled hair. "Dammit, Mia! We have to talk sometime! I _know_ I screwed up, but I'm trying here!"

She finally stopped, turning slowly, pain in her eyes. "I know, I just can't deal with all this just now. I need my family back," she said, blinking back the tears.

Brian nodded, pulling her into a hug. "Okay, Mia. I can wait."

She melted helplessly in his warm embrace before she remembered she was still mad at him. Pulling back, she wiped furiously at the tears that had escaped, and squared her shoulders. "I've gotta got back to the Fort. I promised Rae I'd baby-sit so she could go visit Jesse and Vince."

Brian nodded. He had met the young woman the other day when she and her brother had met with him. She looked a lot like Letty, only…less sullen. It was kinda freaky. "Tell her to say hi from me, to Jesse at least."

"Yeah, I doubt Vince would appreciate it at this point," Mia said, a small smile lighting her face. She had gone to visit Vince yesterday, just after Rae had arrived, and had explained everything to him, including how Brian Earl Spilner, possible serial killer, was actually Brian O'Connor, undercover cop.

Vince had not been pleased. He had accepted, at least in theory, that Brian had saved his life, and chosen them over the police in aiding Dom; but in practise, it had been a little different. The nurse had sedated Vince, stating that she was concerned he would tear out his stitches. Again. Mia thought it was just an excuse to get some peace and quiet, although Mia couldn't blame the woman.

"Do you mind if I walk with you?" he asked almost shyly, reminding her of when he had first started coming to the market. "I'm supposed to meet Alex at the Fort too, we're going to talk to Hector and some of the others about helping the team out," he added, not wanting her to feel pressured. She just nodded, resuming her brisk pace.

When they reached the Fort, Brian noted how she skirted the spot where Jesse ha been shot. He had cleaned up the blood before she'd got back from the hospital, but she still seemed to see it there.

They went inside the cool house, finding Rae slumped down on the couch, Ella sitting on her stomach and talking away quietly. The little girl was two, almost three, and looked a lot like her mother. Her hair was rich dark brown instead of shining black, and her skin was a little paler, but she had the same wicked looking tilted eyes and full mouth. Mia had soon realised that although the little girl talked non-stop, most of it was just a running commentary of what was going on around her, with random comments or exclamations thrown in.

Rae looked up as they came in, and spotting Brian said, "Alejandro's out back, he on the phone with Viv. His wife," she added at their blank looks, "He'll just be a second," she said, smiling. Then she turned to Ella. "Okay Munchkin. I gotta go visit your uncle Jesse in hospital. Aunt Mia's gonna look after you for a couple hours okay? I want you on your best behaviour. We can't have her learning what a little hell raiser you _really_ are, know can we?" the small girl shook her head grinning.

Rae tapped her cheek, "Kiss."

Ella leaned forward, pecking Rae's cheek. "'Bye Momma,"

"'Bye, Muchkin, now scoot!" she said, gently nudging the girl off her lap.

Rae stood up, stretching. Brian noted that she hadn't mentioned Vince, but not really knowing her place in the dynamic of the group, he filed it away.

"Thanks for lookin' after her Mi, I'll probably be a couple hours. Leave a message on my cell if there's a problem. Oh! And no sugar or caffeine for Ella unless you want her bouncing off the walls. Seriously," she warned.

"Noted," Mia laughed.

With that, Rae grabbed her messenger bag and made her way to the rental car parked outside.

* * *

"Ah, Jesse," Rae sighed, looking down at her young friend. He was pale and skinny, as always, but there was a frailty there that hadn't been before. It was heart breaking. For a moment, Rae felt a surge of anger at Dom and the others for getting Jesse involved in this. It didn't matter that Jesse was less than two years younger than her, he was still just a kid, and he always would be in her mind.

There were various tubes and wires linking him to bits of medical equipment clustered around his head, beeping away. She had already spoken to the doctor, explaining how she was the closest thing to family in the area.

The woman had explained that his chances weren't good, the hadn't been able to fix all off his injuries in the first round of surgery, fearing that if they kept him on the table too long, his body wouldn't be able to take it. She said that if he made it though the rest of the surgeries, his odds of survival would greatly improve, but the chances of him lasting that long were small. She advised Rae to prepare for the worst, and seeing the look on the young woman face, had left her in peace.

Rae pulled a chair up next to his bed, carefully taking one of his hands in hers, and began talking. Explaining where she'd been, why she'd left, everything, more than she'd told anyone, even her own brother.

Realising that an hour had passed already, and that she hadn't yet seen Vince, she stood up to leave. Leaning over, he whispered in Jesse's ear. "You fight, little brother, you hear me? The rest of us won't make it without you, so you've gotta fight."

Walking outside, she wiped away her tears and asked the way to Vince's ward.

* * *

"What do you want cop?" Hector demand, the rest of his crew quickly standing behind him.

Alex spoke before Brian had a chance to reply. "Hector, I take it? I'm Alejandro Marquez, Letty's cousin. I need your help."

"Alejandro, huh? You're Rae's bro, right? The fancy lawyer?" Hector asked, eying him.

Alex smiled, "Yeah, that's me. Dom called me; I'm trying to help them out. So's the cop."

"Oh yeah? I think he's helped enough already, don't you?" Hector replied with disgust.

"Come on, we both know the cops would have found a way in either way, and it coulda gone a lot worse. Vince is still alive 'cause of him, and he let Dom leave, so why don't we cut the bull. Dom trusts him to help, and so do I," Alex replied, folding his arms.

Hector paused a moment, then nodded, still not looking at Brian. "What do you need?"

"Simple. I need witnesses at Race Wars who'll swear that they saw Johnny Tran kidnap Vince, and that the team took off after them. Dom said that you were the guy to talk to about this, he said I could trust you," Alex answered.

"What good's that gonna do?" One of Hector's crew asked, frowning.

Hector shot him an annoyed look. "He's gonna make it look like the Trans tried to set up Toretto and the team, right? You've already got dozens of witnesses including Race Wars security that can testify to bad blood between them, not to mention what happened to Jesse, and Tran ain't exactly around to deny it," Hector explained, sounding impressed and obviously not bothered with laying the blame on a dead guy.

"Yeah. Witnesses plus a convenient paper trail is enough for reasonable doubt at the least," Alex smiled.

"And you're okay with this, white boy?" Hector asked, finally looking at Brian.

"For the team? Hell yeah," he replied with hesitation.

Hector grinned, spreading his arms, "Let me make some calls."

* * *

Rae was sitting next to Vince's bed, reading a ragged copy of 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It was one of her favourites, it reminded her of her time with the team. Easy, carefree days filled with jokes and laughter, until the shit hit the fan and everyone had to grow up and realise that life wasn't perfect after all.

She was leaning back in the chair with her legs propped on the bed next to his uninjured arm when he finally came to. "uugh," Vince grunted.

"Hey Vince," she said quietly, closing the book at setting it in her lap.

"Rae," he said, his voice surprised.

Rae frowned, "I thought Mia told you I was comin' round?"

Vince frowned back, "It's tomorrow already?" he asked groggily, the sedatives still wearing off.

"Yeah," she laughed softly, "Mia said the nurse was a bit shot-happy when it came to knockin' you out,"

Vince looked around suspiciously, "She ain't here is she?"

"I think she's on her break," Rae replied, trying to hold back her smile.

Vince lay back, blinking as he tried to gather his thoughts. "What're you doing here, Rae?" he growled, glaring at her.

She took her feet off the bed, and sat forward, with her elbows resting on her knees. "I've already covered this with Dom. I'm here to help, not cause trouble okay? I'm just gonna hang 'round 'till this is all sorted and Jesse's on the mend."

Vince didn't say anything, so Rae continued. "I know that saying we parted on bad terms would be a _massive_ understatement, but I want to make things okay with the rest of the team, and you." She sighed, sitting back again. "I know that I fucked up, Vince, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you."

She waited for his response, and when she didn't get one, she started to get angry, finally letting all the pain boil up after three and a half years of suppressing it. "You know what? Yeah, I hurt you. But you hurt me too Vince, the things you said…" she trailed off, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill. She took a deep breath, and her voice once again calm, she continued, "I'm going to be here a while, and unless you want everyone finding out our dirty little secret, you and I are going to have to find a way to co-exist, okay?"

He finally nodded, shifting slightly and wincing, glaring at his arm.

Rae smiled sympathetically, "Hurts, doesn't it?"

He looked at her sharply, and realising she was trying to be nice, he nodded, his eyes drifting to her now-tattooed forearms, remembering the scars that were once obvious.

"Can I ask you a question, Vince?" she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Sure, go for it," he grumbled.

"What exactly made you think that jumping on to a moving sixteen-wheeler was _ever_ a good idea?" she asked, raising her eyebrows disbelievingly.

He gave her a dark look.

"Mia told me you've got a kid," Vince commented, changing the subject, "I never took you for the motherin' type,"

Rae laughed, "Yeah, well neither did I, but she wasn't exactly planned," she shrugged. "Things change. I'm not exactly 'soccer mom', but I manage. She's a handful, no question, but she's a good kid. I'm gonna bring her in to see Jesse in a day or so, do you…do you want to meet her?" she asked quietly.

Vince just shrugged. "I guess I gotta meet the kid at some point."

Rae nodded. "Doc says you can go home in a couple days, if you behave and don't pull your stitches again. Alex, Ella and I have been crashing at the Fort. If me being there is going to bother you, I can go stay at a hotel, it's not a problem," she offered.

He just shrugged, wincing again at the pain.

"Look Vince," she said, as she gathered her things to leave, "I know you hate me, and that's fair, but the team…they were my family too, and I miss that." She stood for a moment, as though she was going to say something more, but shook her head and left, the door swinging behind her.

She was right. He did hate her. But what she failed to realise was that he hated himself more.


	4. Secrets Spilled

_**A/N: Thanks to **dragonmama **(do you really want to know?)**, 2furious4u **(next chapter, I promise!)**, BabyD414,** and **Vinces-Girl, **for their reviews of the last chapter! This chapter is the longest I've posted here so far, over 4,000 words!**_

**Warning!: This is not a happy chapter, it's _dark_. Sorry if it upsets, but it had to be done. I promise, things will be cheerier from here on.**

**_Review and Enjoy! (Sort of)._**

* * *

Rae's life had settled into a steady routine. During the week, she and Letty would leave the house quickly, avoiding their Abuela, and would head round to the garage, which was always open early. They'd hang out for a while with everyone, them they would all head to school. Dom and Vince were seniors, and Mia and Rae were freshmen.

During school hours, Mia and Rae would usually hang together, occasionally hanging out with Letty, Leon and Han, but more often just by themselves. Dom and Vince didn't deem any of them worthy of attention, preferring to spend their time stealing the cheerleaders from the jocks.

Rae and Mia soon became best friends, Rae standing up for the younger girl when kids at school would pick on her 'cause she was a year ahead. Unlike Letty, Rae never got violent when she was angry, but she sure could scare the shit out of people. She never really got into trouble because most people backed off when they learned Mia was Dominic's little sis.

As for school itself, Rae kept her head down, trying to avoid drawing the attention of her teachers. She always handed homework in on time, and always got decent grades, but she never volunteered answers, even when she knew them, and never tried to stand out. She never made any friends, and although Mia tried, she gave up when she realised that they just wanted a chance to get closer to the much-coveted Dominic Toretto.

After school, they would head back to the garage, where she and Mia would do their homework together, and the others would dive into whatever project they were working on. For a while, Leon and Han had tried to teach her the basics of auto repair, but had eventually given up, declaring disbelievingly that she was, indeed, cursed.

They'd stay there until Mr. T. chased them out, and more often than not, they'd end up back at the Fort where she and Mia would cook dinner. The first time she had offered to cook, everyone had look at her like she was mad, but she had persisted convincing them that they wouldn't regret it.

She had turned up the next day with a couple bags full of ingredients, which she refused to let anyone see, then had disappeared to the kitchen, banning everyone except Mia. They had been sorely tempted by the strange aromas to try and sneak in, but Letty, in a rare display of female unity, had stood guard, even though she was just as curious.

A while later, a slightly frazzled looking Mia had called everyone into the dinning room where they were greeted with the sight of multiple dishes of gooey, delicious looking Chinese food gently steaming in the middle of the table. They all sat down, Mr. Toretto saying grace before they dug in. Vince was eyeing his plate as though she was trying to poison him.

After they were sitting back, their bellies happily full; Mr. T. casually asked a smiling Rae where she had learned to cook like that. Her face immediately fell, and she quickly answered that her parents used to own a restaurant where her Ma would cook. She then quickly excused herself, going back to the kitchen to clean up. She never offered to cook again.

Life went on. Rae became close friends with all of them, except Dom and Vince. They pretty much ignored the girls, much preferring to work on their machines. Mia's fourteenth birthday came round, and everyone spent the day at the beach, swimming and eating ice cream.

Things at home weren't too good for Raeka though. Her grandmother was bitter, and was continually putting her down, calling her names. Most of the time, she would just stand there and take it, but occasionally Abuela would hit on a sensitive spot, and Rae would start screaming back. Letty had initially tried to intercede and defend her from their grandmother's bitter rants, but Rae told her nicely that it wasn't her problem, and that Abulea would only start on her too. After that, Letty usually let her cousin handle it, but she would always stay nearby in case things got out of hand.

When things got really bad, she would go and stay at Mia's. At first, she would sneak in, climbing up to the girl's bedroom, and tapping on the glass 'till she let her in, leaving in the morning before anyone woke. Mia never asked what the fights were about, and Rae never told her.

One day, however, when she was leaving, she lost her footing on the roof and slid down, catching her fingers on the guttering a moment before crashing into the bushes below. She didn't break anything, only bruised her butt, but when Mia had seen her friend start slipping down the roof, she'd started screaming, convinced that Rae had broken her neck or something.

It had woken the other two occupants of the house, and there was quite a little scene on the front lawn as Dom tried to comfort his sister, pointing out to the sobbing girl that Rae was fine. Antonio Toretto was _not_ happy, but after she explained about fighting with her grandmother, her sighed and said that she was welcome anytime, as long as she didn't go climbing around on any more rooftops.

Rae became a regular around the Toretto's, never causing any trouble, and helping out with dinner and breakfast when she stayed. When she turned up on their doorstep, flushed with anger and tears in her eyes, they would never ask what her grandmother had said to get her such a state, Mr. T. would just wrap a big arm around her in a fatherly hug and let her in to the house.

It was on one of these occasions that things changed forever in the Toretto household.

* * *

Rae was asleep on the floor, with Mia gently snoring in the bed next to her, when there was a sudden loud banging from the door down stairs. Rae shot wide awaked, panic flooding her, as her nightmare seemed to bleed into real life. Mia was slower to wake, blinking and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Rae glace over at the pink clock glowing on the table above her. Two A.M. on a Wednesday, who was it?

Creeping out of her room, closely followed by Mia, the met Mr. T. and Dom at the top of the stairs, all of them still dressed in sleepwear. Mr. Toretto was holding a baseball bat and was making his way down the stairs, "You girls stay there," he ordered, his tone brooking not argument. Dominic followed his father down the stairs, both of them drawn towards the still-thundering door.

Mr. Toretto stepped up, looking cautiously through the peephole. "Shit!" he muttered, passing the bat to Dom, and went to open the door, stopping only to yell up the stairs, "You girls go back to your room _NOW!_"

Mia ran up quickly, but Rae stopped at the top of the stairs, out of sight, but still able to hear clearly. Mia, noticing her friend had lagged behind, turned and gesture frantically, sighing and returning to her room alone as her friend just shook her head.

Mr. T. opened the door quickly, catching the figure that tumbled through the door as soon as it opened. There was a moment of silence. "Aww, hell Vince! What happened?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"Dad lost his job," Vince half sobbed, "He was so _angry!_ He wouldn't stop! I got away, I didn't know where to go, I'm sorry Tony, I'm so sorry…" Vince pleaded, his voice broken.

"It's okay Vincent, it'll be okay," Mr. Toretto soothed, giving Vince one of the bear hugs he gave Rae when she turned up on his doorstep. Rae peeked round the corner and saw Vince's shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Suddenly there was a loud screech of brakes and then more banging on the door.

"Vincen' Martelli, you get your ass ou' here righ' now!" an angry voice slurred from outside.

Vince stiffened, but Mr. Toretto gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's okay, Vince. You just stay here, I'll take care of it."

* * *

"C'mon BOY! I know you're in there!" his dad yelled. Vince could only stand there. He hated feeling so helpless, relying on others, but he was _scared_. He'd never seen his father like this before.

Tony and Dom pushed quickly through the front door, keeping his father outside. His dad was weaving drunkenly as he yelled at Tony, while _he_ just stood there, tense. Dom was standing a little behind his father, arms crossed over his chest. He knew the kind of things his dad was saying. _The boy deserved it, little punk. Gotta teach 'em their place. He was askin' for it, givin' me lip._

He had come home to find his dad already halfway through a bottle of tequila, and he immediately started in on Vince, blaming him for everything. He was almost the same size as his father now, a bear of a man, but as soon as his father started, he was the same scrawny little kid he was years back, and he couldn't do anything but curl up and take the beating.

But today had been different, he hadn't stopped after the first couple hits, and Vince had realised that his dad wasn't going to stop at all. So he'd ran to the safest place he knew. He had no doubt that if he had stayed, his dad would have killed him. As it was, his face was swollen, his lip was split and he was pretty sure he had some cracked ribs.

As he watched the scene unfold outside, he felt a movement behind him, but before he could move, something blessedly cool was gently pressed against his face, soothing and numbing the pain. He turned to find Rae standing there, holding the bag of peas to the side of his face.

He took them from her, positioning them where he hurt the most, while she took a towel she had brought through, dipped it in a bowl of water and began to clean the blood off his face. "I'm fine," he grumbled. She just raised an eyebrow and continued her work. He was too tired to argue.

Outside his dad began to move towards the house, but was stopped when Tony took a swing at him, sending him flying back on his ass. He yelled something then came back into the house, Dominic close behind. When he entered, his eyes snapped to Rae. "I thought I told you to stay upstairs."

She shrugged not stopping. "Don't worry, I've seen worse. Mia's still upstairs though."

Tony frowned at her, but turned his attention to Vince. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked quietly.

Vince just shrugged, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Rae's small hands quickly felt around. "I think he's got a couple cracked ribs," she said to Tony. Turning to him she added, "If you have trouble breathing, you should go to the hospital."

"Well, you can stay with us, no arguments. You're only a month away from eighteen, and I doubt your dad'll make a fuss. Dom and me'll pick up your stuff tomorrow. You can crash in Dom's room for now," he said. "Dom, go check on Mia. I'll make some cocoa and you can tell me what happened."

As he went to the kitchen, Rae began cleaning his broken skin with anti-septic, putting band-aids on the larger cuts. By the time she was done, Dominic was coming back down the stairs. Packing the first aid kit up, she disappeared upstairs without a word. Tony came out of the kitchen with a tray of hot drinks, spilling them a little as he brought them to the nearby table.

They sat down with the drinks and Vince told them everything. How long his dad had been hitting him, how his Ma had skipped out a couple weeks ago, how his dad had lost his job. Tony looked sad that he hadn't been able to help sooner, but Dom was furious, and the only thing stopping him from running after Vince's father was a few stern words from Tony.

* * *

The next morning, Dom and Tony acted like he'd always been there, laughing and joking with him. Rae pretended that last night hadn't happened, which Vince appreciated; it was _definitely_ better than Mia's sympathetic glances.

The rest of his life continued as normal, Tony insisted he continued at school, and he helped out around the garage, earning his keep, even though the older man argued that it wasn't necessary. Letty, Leon and Han caught on pretty quickly what had happened, but didn't say anything.

After Tony had fixed it up a little, Vince moved into the basement, giving him some privacy. Sharing with Dom was _not _fun. The guy was a slob. Not that Vince wasn't, but there was a difference between _his_ mess and someone else's.

His birthday came and went, he and Dom celebrating by getting drunk and passing out in the living room.

Rae stayed over with increasing frequency. Vince thought it might have something to do with the old lady, but Letty seemed okay, so he wasn't sure. She and Mia were pretty tight, even though they were a bit of an odd pair. He didn't know whether it had anything to do with Rae staying over, but rumours were floating around about her mother, that she was some kind of hooker or something.

It didn't quite fit with the little she had said about her family, and although her was inclined to believe her, he over heard her grandmother gossiping one day in the fresh produce aisle, whispering conspiratorially with another old lady. "The older one's a good girl, does as she's told, but the young one…_niña de Diablo_! I wouldn't be surprised if she grows up to be a whore, just like her _madre_. You know, that _puta_ got my poor boy killed!"

He didn't much care _what_ her Ma was, he sure as hell didn't want to be judged by _his_ parents, but he didn't like the idea that she was lying to the Toretto's. Everyone knew what had happened to Letty's mom after her dad had died in a training accident at the navel base where he was stationed, she'd gotten into drugs, dumped Letty, and then disappeared. Maybe Rae's mom wasn't much different.

Vince soon found out.

He and Dom had finally gotten the heap of a car running smoothly, and had decided to celebrate with a beer or four. Dom's dad was okay with them drinking, preferring they did it under his roof instead of elsewhere, where they might get into trouble. Mia, Letty and Rae had apparently been out shopping for some upcoming party, coming home laden with shopping bags from the mall.

To say he and Dom were slightly buzzed would be a bit of an understatement, but Vince wasn't drunk enough to miss the disgusted look that Rae gave them as she passed to go to the kitchen. Feeling the anger build in him, he couldn't resist asking, "Was your Ma really a whore?"

Mia gasped, and Dom growled a warning, but he didn't hesitate, walking up behind her stilled form and repeating, "Was. Your. Ma. Really. A. Whore?" He didn't get to ask a third time as her small fist came out of nowhere, ploughing into his cheek. He stumbled back, losing his balance and landing on his ass, more from shock than from the force of her blow.

"Who told you that?" she asked, her voice dangerously low, her whole body _humming_ with barely restrained anger. Vince realised he had crossed a line.

"I overheard your grams talking in the store," he answered, staring up at her, sobering up quickly. Her eyes flashed, meeting Letty's, then she was gone, the door slamming behind her, Letty running quickly behind her.

"You bastard!" Mia screamed, running up to her room.

Dom stood over him for a moment, then held out his hand, helping his friend up. "You okay man? Girl's got a mean right, huh?" he asked, voice full of amusement.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up," Vince grumbled, flopping into a nearby chair.

"Come on man, you were askin' for it."

"Asking for what?" Tony Toretto asked, coming in through the door.

"He pissed off Rae again, just like the first time. Only this time, she hit him," Dom replied, grinning.

"Seriously? Good for her," Tony replied, with little sympathy for Vince. "You realise it's almost a year since she turned up at the garage?"

Dom just laughed.

About an hour later, there was a knocking on the door. Dom answered, leading a flushed looking Rae and Letty into the living room. Rae was staring at her shoes, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Letty spoke to Dom, leaving out the usual flirtatious attitude. "Is your dad here? I need to talk to him." Realising the seriousness of her tone, he nodded, jogging up the stairs to get his dad, who was currently trying to convince Mia to come back down.

Soon, all the Toretto's were downstairs, with Tony looking worried. "What's wrong?"

Rae just looked uncomfortable. Letty stepped towards him, speaking up. "Abuela kicked her out. For good. She needs somewhere to stay 'till we can call her brother and sort things out. Is it okay if she stays here for a few days?"

Tony looked at both of them, then nodded. "Does this have anything to do with the stupid thing Vince said earlier?" Vince winced, obviously Mia had told her dad what had happened.

Rae still didn't speak. "Sort of. She went home to confront her, and they got into this huge fight," Letty shrugged.

"About what?" Tony asked. Rae didn't reply. "If you're going to stay here, I need to know the truth, I won't judge, none of us will, I promise."

She finally raised her eyes to his and nodded slowly.

* * *

_Her brother was off for the weekend, boating with some friends on Lake Michigan. She had helped out for a while, clearing tables in her parent's restaurant, then had sat in one of the corner booths doing her homework. They had shut at nine, and by eleven, all the staff had headed home and the place was empty, except for her mom and dad, who were doing the last few jobs before heading upstairs to their apartment._

_She was sitting on the bar, watching her mother go over the menu for the next day, making sure they could get all the ingredients. Every so often, she would tuck a stray piece of her silky black hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back in her face again. As if feeling her daughter's gaze she looked up, smiling lovingly before looking back at her work._

_Her father was putting away the last couple glasses behind the bar, when he suddenly stiffened, staring out of the window. Before she even had a chance to look around, he had pulled her down behind the bar, tucking her small frame out of sight as he whispered, "Stay here and be quiet, what ever happens, okay?" Scared by the desperate look in his eyes, she nodded, eyes wide._

_The bell above the door jingled, and her father stepped out from behind the bar, saying, "What ever you want, just take it."_

_"The money!" a muffled voice yelled. The bank-issued moneybag scraped across the bar-top as her father handed it to them. "Shit! This isn't _half_ of what you said there would be, man!" the voice yelled, apparently at his partner._

_"That's all we have," her mother's soft voice answered. "We took the rest to the bank yesterday, I swear."_

_"Fuck!" another voice yelled. "I knew this was a bad idea! I shouldn't have let you talk me into this!"_

_There was a tense pause. Then the first ground out, "I told you to keep your trap shut, man! They recognised your voice, bro. Now we're gonna have to kill them," he said, seemingly unconcerned with the change in plans._

_"No! Please, we won't tell, just let my wife go!" her father pleaded, his voice loosing it's calm for the first time._

_There was another tense pause. "Well ain't you a pretty little thing, just like a china doll," the first voice said._

_"No. No! You stay away from my wife, you bastards! If you touch her, I swe…" There was a loud crack and then a thump as her father's unconscious body hit the floor._

_"_Stay where you are baby, whatever happens, stay hidden!_" her mother said in Chinese, knowing the men couldn't understand her._

_"Pleading ain't gonna help, sweet cheeks. If I ain't gettin' a pay day, I'm certainly gettin' _somethin'_" the first man said coldly._

_"I don't know about this, man," the second guy said uncertainly._

_"Look, if we're gonna have to cap 'em anyway, what's wrong with havin' a little fun first? I ain't goin' back to prison, just cause you frightened of a little pussy, that's for damn sure," the first man argued. The second man didn't reply, but obviously gave in as her mother started praying under her breath._

_Rae covered her ears, trying to block out her mother's screams as the two men took their turns raping her; her eyes squeezed shut, trying not to start screaming herself. She stayed like that, curled up and gently rocking as two shots rang out, her mother's screams being cut short, then another spray of bullets as the men shot up the bar, shattering glasses and sending glass showering over the still-hidden girl._

_The doorbell jingled again as they left, and Rae counted to a hundred, waiting to make sure they were gone. Then she crawled around the bar, not noticing as the glass on the floor cut into her already bleeding arms, old enough to know what she would find, but still hoping she was wrong._

_Her father was lying next to the bar, a single bullet in his head. Her mother was much the same, but her clothes had been torn off and there was blood on her thighs. With a shaking hand, she closed her mother's empty eyes, giving her one last kiss before covering her with a tablecloth, doing the same for her father before she reached for the phone, dialling 911._

_"I need the police. Some guys robbed out restaurant," she asked the operator._

_"Okay sweetie, is anyone hurt?" the operator asked._

_"Yes," she sobbed._

* * *

"By the time the ambulance got there, I had nearly bleed out, apparently one of my arteries got cut. The cops found the guys that did it, one was a guy my father had hired then fired in one day for slacking off, and the other was his ex-con brother. They pled guilty and I didn't have to testify. We stayed with friends for a while, but then Alex got the scholarship.

We don't know why, but my father's mother always hated my mom, and when he chose her over Abuela, she decided my mom was evil or something. That's what we fight about. She calls me all these names, which I don't really care about, but sometimes she starts talking about my mom and it's not right. When I found out that she'd been saying those things to everyone else…" she shrugged trailing off. She was still staring at the dining room table where they had gone to sit, and she had told the whole story in the same even, empty tone.

Mia was crying softly. Letty was holding her cousin's limp hand in her own tight grip, for her own comfort or for Rae's, it didn't matter. Dom looked like he wanted to kill someone. Tony was looking at her with a mixture of deep sympathy and respect, like he want to bundle her close and shield her from the world, like he did with Mia.

Vince…he felt sick, the things he had said…they were unforgivable. He stood up sharply, causing his chair to fall back, and stomped towards the basement. Before he shut the door, he heard Rae ask, "Who's he so angry at?"

"Himself," Tony replied.


	5. Tinkerbelle and Tarzan

_**A/N: Thanks to **Vinces-Girl, 2furious4u, dragonmamma, K4LI, rippedjeans, **and** HermioneandMarcus **for their reviews of the last chapter!**_

**_I'm so sorry this chapter took so long, but I had an essay due that was worth 30 per cent of my final score, and, as always, I left it to the last minute. (Bad girl!) Anywhoo, I have one more essay, but as of May31st, my course if offically over, and my next one doesn't start 'till Febuary, so I'll have much more time for writing!_**

**_This chapter is...not _bad,_ just a little boring, at least compared to the last one. Things will start to heat up soon, I promise, just bear with me._**

**_As always, Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Standing on the vine-covered balcony, Letty watched idly as a lizard made it's way slowly up the wall, heading for the shadows.

It was too hot, even for one born and bred in California, and it didn't help that the hotel's air conditioning had crapped out in the middle of the night. The air was thick, humid and oppressive, matching her dark mood.

Dom and Leon had gone out, probably only to stumble back in a couple of hours. There wasn't much to do, and the stress was getting to them all.

Things had gone so wrong, and Letty still wasn't quite sure _how_. When Dom had been released from Lompoc a couple years back, he'd been different. Still her Dom, but…_different_. She couldn't deny that his new edge turned her on, but there were things about it that she didn't like. He'd always been a little wild, but some how he had lost his restraint. But mostly it was the girls. She knew he cheated on her, but she had consoled herself that for all the skanks there were, he always came back to her, and for a short time she could pretend it was like the old days, when he treated her like a queen. But eventually, the illusion would always come crashing down.

The thing was, although Letty had this tough-chick reputation, she had never been with anyone but Dom, and she didn't know how to deal with the problems they were having. Her dignity, her pride told her to get rid of him, to not put up with that kind of crap, but she was scared, and she hated that feeling.

When he'd come up with the crackpot idea of the heists, it had been her out, her chance at a fresh start with him. Sipping Margaritas on a beach in Mexico, free of life's troubles, the whole crew together and safe.

_Yeah, right._ Here she was in Mexico, no beach, no Margaritas, her and Dom worse than ever, with Leon awkwardly caught in the middle. Half the crew was still in Los Angeles, facing criminal charges, and they weren't even sure if Jesse would pull through. All _they_ could do was sit around and wait for Alejandro's next call.

She was pissed at Dom for getting them all into this. She was pissed at Vince and Leon for going along with it. She was pissed at Mia for not stopping them. She was pissed at Brian for being a cop. She was pissed at herself for thinking something so _stupid_ was the answer. Hell, she was even pissed at Jesse for racing Tran, then cutting out.

She knew Alex was supposed to be this hotshot lawyer, but she didn't see how he could get them out of this. She knew they all deserved to go to jail for what they had done, but she was never going to do anything like that again, and she'd gladly give back all the money if it would make things go back to normal.

Gazing over the bustling street below, she thought over her problems. She wouldn't talk to Dom. Every time he tried, she would walk away, or change the subject. The truth was, she didn't know what to say, and now was _definitely_ not the time for her usual catty remarks or bitchy demands. She knew that a lot of people didn't like her, that they thought she was a tough bitch. She didn't care. The people she wanted as family loved her anyway, and she didn't need more than that. But now she faced loosing it all, and she didn't know what she would do if she was left all alone. Life made her tough, fighting over Dom made her bitchy, but her family made her strong.

_What would she do without them?_

* * *

Rae struggled to keep a hold of her squirming daughter as they made there way to Vince's ward.

They had gone to see Jesse already, and after a warning to be gentle, Ella had sat quietly by his side and said, "Poor thing," over and over, as she patted his hand. Mia had stared crying at the sight and Brian had led her out, saying over his shoulder that they would meet up with Rae and Ella at Vince's room.

Rae had stayed a little longer, introducing Ella, even though Jesse couldn't hear, and Ella started talking to him, responding to questions only she could hear. Rae had sat and watched for a while, amazed once again at the effortless joy in the little girl.

As Rae pushed open the door, Ella managed to wriggle out of her arms and run into the room. She stopped next to the bed and looked up at Vince, who was sitting up in bed. He stared back, obviously startled by the mini-invasion.

"Uh, hi," he said awkwardly.

Taking no notice of his mildly uncomfortable demeanour, the little girl gave him a big smile and replied, "Hi! I Tinkerbelle. You Vince?" _I Jane. You Tarzan._ Rae held back a snicker at the confused look on Vince's face.

He nodded absently, and looked up at Rae, who was still standing by the door. "You called your kid _Tinkerbelle_?!" he asked incredulously.

Rae laughed. "No. _I_ called her Bella. _She_ decided her name was Tinkerbelle." She shrugged. "She's goin' through her Disney phase. I'm told it only lasts for another nine years or so."

Vince just stared at the toddler, who was currently trying to pull herself up onto the bed, but had only succeeded in pulling half the covers of the bed. "Down. Sit." _Ohmygod, he's talking to my kid like she's a dog._ "Could you give me a hand here?" he asked desperately, holding on to his end of the blankets, essentially playing tug-of-war with Bella.

"Sure," she replied, picking up Ella as Mia and Brian entered the room, setting her daughter on Vince's bed as soon as he was done fixing the blankets. "There 'ya go," she grinned, patting Ella's head, "Play nice."

Ella grinned back and began crawling up Vince's legs, stopping when she was next to him, but still facing him. His hands were in the air, trying to avoid her little grasping ones. "What the fu…"

"Vince! Language!" Mia scolded, having a hard time not grinning. Vince just scowled, folding his arms gingerly over his chest.

Apparently deciding to ignore Ella in hopes that she'd go away, he turned his glare towards Brian. "O'Connor."

"Vince," Brian nodded back, trying to hold back his own laughter.

There was an awkward pause, filled with Ella's singsong voice as she tugged futilely at Vince's un-bandaged arm.

"Well, the doctor said they're going to release you in a couple days," Mia said, trying to steer the conversation away from less awkward subjects. It didn't work.

"How'd it go with Hector?" Vince asked Brian coldly.

"Good, he's gonna help. All you have to do is tell the cops that the Trans grabbed you at Race Wars and forced you onto that truck. It should be enough," Brian replied confidently.

Vince nodded, then looked in annoyance at Ella, who was still tugging. "Look kid, it ain't gonna happen," he told her.

She looked at him and said, "Pretty,"

Everyone, including Rae, looked at her like she was crazy, Vince to only one that actually voiced the opinion. "'You nuts, kid?"

She giggled, and then pointed at the tattoo peeking out from under his bandages. "Pretty!"

Understanding broke across Vince's face, and Mia and Vince laughed. "You like tattoos?" he asked.

She nodded vigorously, sending her wavy hair bouncing. "'Course she does. She even helps out at the shop where I work, don'tcha munchkin?" Rae replied, finally rescuing Vince from his tiny attacker.

Before anyone could say anything else, another voice interrupted from the open door. "Well, ain't this cute?" remarked large, dark skinned man said in a less-than-friendly tone. Next to him was a shorter white guy. Both of them had 'cop' written all over them.

"Bilkins, Tanner," Brian greeted, shifting unconsciously so he was between them and Mia.

"And who might these two be?" Bilkins asked, gesturing towards Rae and Bella. Vince growled.

"I'm Raeka Marquez, and this is my daughter, Bella," Rae replied, watching the two men carefully.

"Marquez, as in Letty Marquez?" Tanner asked in a nasal growl.

"My cousin."

"Ahh," Bilkins said, understanding. "Well I don't supposed you've heard from your cousin, have you?" he asked mockingly.

"I can't say that I have, sorry. And if you're here to talk to any of us about the case, I think our attorney should be here, don't you?" she replied, giving them a saccharin smile.

"That would be Alejandro Marquez, her brother," Brian added, folding his hands over his chest.

"And where'd he get his diploma, Tijuana?" Bilkins laughed condescendingly.

"Harvard actually," Rae corrected with a smirk, watching as a shocked look chased across his face.

"This ain't over, I know what you're tryin' to do, and it ain't gonna work," Bilkins growled before storming off.

Tanner shook his head then turned to Brian, "I need to speak to you for a moment, O'Connor. Off the record."

Brian looked at him for a moment then nodded, turning to Mia, "I'll just be a second, okay?" She nodded, eyes wide.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Vince let out a gusty breath and thumped the bed beside him. His face was bright red.

"You okay their V? You look like you're about to explode," Mia commented.

"Just tryin' not to say somethin' stupid," he grumbled, rubbing his chin.

"And we all thank you for that, truly," Rae added sarcastically, Ella once again squirming in her arms.

Mia smiled weakly, her brown eyes fragile. "Don't worry, Brian will take care of it."

Vince just nodded, not meeting her eyes.

* * *

They stood in the deserted hospital hallway, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Tanner sighed, pushing back his jacket and placing his hands on his waist.

"This better not be just about the girl," he said warningly, giving Brian a pointed look.

"It's not!" Brian protested. "They're good people."

"They're _thieves_!" Tanner replied incredulously.

"So was I, once. But they know they screwed up, and they're not going to do it again," Brian defended.

"I should damn well hope not!" Tanner yelled. After a moment, his breathing slowed, and he continued, his voice calmer. "I can't say I'm pleased with your choice to go native, but it's your choice. But be careful, this game you're all playin' is a tricky one. Bilkins ain't just gonna let it slide, he's out for blood. If you don't watch yourself, you'll _all_ go down for this, and I can't do anything to stop it," he warned, drawing the line.

Brian nodded, accepting. "Thanks Sarg."

"I ain't your sergeant anymore O'Connor," Tanner chuckled, shaking his head as he made his way down the corridor.

* * *

"I can walk fine!" Vince grumbled over his shoulder.

"I'm sure you can Mr. Martelli, but it's hospital policy that a patients are escorted out in a wheel chair. Now be a dear and stop complaining, hmm?" the nurse replied patronisingly as she wheeled him towards the exit.

Rae was trying hard not to laugh at the way the small, motherly looking woman was pushing Vince around. In more ways than one. Vince was grumbling under his breath about 'crazy old bats', but the nurse just smiled sunnily, ignoring him.

"You must be pretty relieved to be getting rid of him, huh?" Rae asked, just to see what the lady would reply, earning herself a glare for Vince himself.

"Oh, yes dear. We were beginning to run low on sedatives," she replied, her face deadpan. Vince made a choking sound and Rae burst out laughing, missing the slight twitch of the nurse's lips.

Rae was the only one there to pick up Vince. As the police had seized the Team's cars as potential evidence, Rae and Alex were the only ones with wheels. Brian and Alex had received a call and had to meet Hector about something, and Mia had to look after the store (and Ella), so the task had fallen on Rae.

When they reached the main doors, the nurse put the brakes on the chair, allowing Vince to stand. He winced a little at the movement, but managed to stand on his own.

"Good bye, Mr. Martelli. I hope I never have to see you again," she said formally.

"I ain't quite sure how to take that," he replied frowning.

She shrugged, "However you wish," she answered before turning to leave. When Vince wasn't watching, she turned back and winked a Rae, causing her to disguise her sudden laughter with a coughing fit. Vince sighed and slapped her a couple of times on the back.

Finally getting hold of herself, she nodded towards the exit. "Let's go home."


	6. Home

_**A/N: Thank to **2furious4u **and **drangonmamma **for their reviews of the last chapter.**_

**_I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this chapter, but I'm free and clear of school now, so here ya go!_**

**_Also, I have my driving test on Monday, so wish me luck! (I know, nearly twenty and no driver's license, but a least I've finally gotten round to taking it!)_**

**_Anyway, Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

It took Vince a full two days before he worked up the courage to apologise, if his hit-and-run "Sorry," could be counted as an apology. He figured it was another day and a half before Rae accepted his apology, cause that's when Letty and Mia stopped glaring at him.

As soon she'd hit him, he'd realised he'd fucked up, be he hadn't known how badly until she'd told her story. He'd been so caught up in his own problems that he hadn't even realised that there might be a reason for all her anger, just like him.

Except not just like him. His parents had given up on him in their own ways; hers had died protecting her. How a kid could live through such a thing amazed him. No wonder she was messed up. When she'd been talking, all her anger had gone, and all that was left was this scared little kid.

The things he's said, it made him fume just to think about. But he knew better now, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

* * *

The weekend after Rae got kicked out of her Grandmother's place, Tony opened the door to find a very tired looking teenager standing on his front porch.

Mia and Rae were already asleep upstairs, so he kept his voice low. "Can I help you boy?"

"I'm looking for the Toretto's, is this the right house?" the kid asked, frowning at a scrap of paper in his hands.

"Yeah, I'm Tony Toretto. What d'ya want?"

"I'm Alex Marquez, Rae's brother. We talked on the phone?" the kid replied. He was only a little older than Dom, and Tony suddenly had this blinding vision of how this was going to turn out.

Sighing, he stepped back. "You'd better come in then, kid. Rae's asleep upstairs. Best we let her sleep for now, that way we can talk, okay?"

The boy nodded, looking around curiously as he stepped inside. Vince and Dominic looked up from where they were watching TV in the front room.

"Boys, this is Rae's brother Alex. Alex, this is my son Dominic and his friend Vincent. Vince lives here too." Quiet nods all round. "Rae's been bunking with my daughter Mia, they're pretty close." Another nod from Alex. "Did Rae tell you what happened?"

Alex shook his head, his shaggy black hair flopping in his eyes. "Letty did. Rae wouldn't tell me what happened; only that Abuela had kicked her out. I thought at first she'd started st…" he trailed off.

Tony smiled. "Stealin' cars again? Nah, she's been behaving herself, for the most part."

Alex's lips curled up in the ghost of a smile. "She told you about that, huh?"

"Yeah, a good thing she did too, I own a garage that specialises in high-performance vehicles." Tony laughed at Alex's wince. "It's okay, she's a good girl. A little temperamental, maybe…"

Vince snorted. "That's an understatement," he muttered.

Ignoring him, Tony gestured for Alex to take a seat. "You can stay here tonight, you wouldn't be the first person to crash on the couch. I figure we should talk first though, before Rae gets involved."

He looked for a moment at the young man in front of him. He was tall and lean, with hair that looked a couple months past needing a cut. His clothes were fashionable in the worn-out way many students have. His eyes were red and tired, and Tony was willing to bet it wasn't just from the flight, from what Rae had said, her brother was working pretty hard to send money on top of studying hard to keep his scholarship.

"What are your plans, boy? About Rae. Who is she gonna live with? Where will she go to school? I ain't trying to cause problems or question you, but I wanna make sure she'll be okay."

Alex nodded, running a hand through his hair and causing it to stick up wildly. "I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Until Letty told me what happened, I figured I'd try and talk to Abuela, but now…" he sighed, "She'll live with me, I'll figure it out. I just don't get where this came from. She's been here a year and she's been okay, why would our grandmother start now?"

Vince and Dom exchanged a look. "When the last time you spoke to her, man?" Vince asked, disbelieving.

Alex sat up, tensing with anger. "I talk to her every week. What the hell are you talking about?"

"She started staying the night with Mia once a week or so not that long after she arrived. I didn't find out 'till Rae fell of the roof leaving one morning," he held up a hand to cut off Alex's exclamation. "She was fine, just a little bruised. I told her she was welcome here when even she needed to get away from home. The amount of nights she'd been spending over here has increased, she was spendin' three, four nights a week here."

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" Alex wondered aloud.

"She's real proud of you. My guess is, she didn't want to ruin your chances," Tony replied sympathetically. "Look, I know I'm gonna regret sayin' this, but if you want, she can stay here." The heads of all three boys snapped up. "I won't be much different from how things have been, she can stay in school and with her friends, and you can continue with university. She can share my daughter's room, Mia won't mind, she's been wantin' to get bunk beds anyhow. I'll make sure she keeps up with school and stays outta trouble. I ain't exactly sure when this became a haven for lost kids, but this place is always full of them, and one more permanent resident ain't gonna make much difference."

Alex was staring at him in shock. "Well that's, uh…I mean, well…"

Tony laughed, "You don't need to answer now, talk to Rae, think it over, just know that the offer's there if you need it."

* * *

Alex dreamed he was being suffocated by a screaming banshee, but woke to find it was, in fact, reality. Rae, upon coming downstairs and seeing her brother asleep on the couch, had launched herself at him, waking him up and freaking him out.

"You're here! You're really here!" she mumbled, her face pressed into his t-shirt.

"Yeah, Mei-Mei, I'm here," he said, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Although he spoke to her every week, he hadn't seen her since he'd dropped her off; it had used up most of his savings just to fly here. They had always been close; it nearly killed him not being able to see her.

The morning passed in a blur. He was proudly introduced to what Rae referred to as 'everyone' at breakfast. On top of Mr. Toretto, Dom, Vince and Letty, there was Mia, all shy and quiet, and two lanky boys, Leon and Han, who were pretty tight with Letty. Alex could see that despite missing him and having problems with their grandmother, Rae was happy here, at home.

Alex watched Mr. Toretto with the rest of them, wanting to make sure he could be trusted. He treated them all with feigned sufferance, but it was clear that he cared about all of them, asking about school, their home lives, and answering any gear-head questions. And there certainly were a lot. If Rae could be _this_ surrounded by auto-culture and _not_ be stealing cars, it had to be a good thing, a good place. A home. Something he couldn't give her.

After breakfast was cleaned up, he nodded to Mr. Toretto, then led Rae outside to talk.

Sitting down at a large outdoor table, he began. "Rae, Mr. Toretto has offered to let you stay with him permanently. I know you want to come with me, I want that too, but you have to remember there was a reason why you came to live here in the first place. Trust me, if I'd known what Abuela was like, I would never have left you here, but Mr. Toretto seems like a genuinely nice guy."

Rae was frowning. "You're gonna leave me again, aren't you?"

Alex took her hand. "It's your choice, and I need you to think hard about it. I need you to figure out what's best, not for me, but for _you_. You have a steady home, a decent school, friends; people to look after you. I'd damn well try, but I don't…I don't know that I could give you all of those things." I took a lot for him to admit it to her, but it was the truth. "If you decide you want to come with me, you come with me. If you decide you want to stay, you stay. I won't force you either way, but you need to think hard about it."

She nodded and he stood, giving her a kiss on the head before he went back inside, leaving her to think.

* * *

Rae watched as the other's played basketball, a groan going out as Dom cheated by lifting Mia up to the basket.

Her gut reaction was to go with Alex, to keep him close. But she knew he was right. Going with him wouldn't be fair on either of them; they were both just kids. But to stay with the Toretto's? That was something different all together. She realised it was no different from how she was living just now, but somehow it was crossing a boundary. She would be a part of their family, good or bad.

She'd be sharing a room with Mia, although she had already been sharing with Letty. She'd have to get used to having men around again, and she's have to live with Vince. Dom was okay, he treated her a lot like Mia, and while that was a little irritating, it reminded her of Alex. But Vince was another matter. Up until a few days ago, it seemed like his sole purpose in life was to piss her off, but now he stepped on eggshells around her, trying not to offend. She wasn't sure which she hated more.

But again, Alex was right. She had friends here, she was happy. And so long as they'd have her, she wasn't going to leave.

* * *

Mia was ecstatic. She had been so worried that Rae was going to leave, but now not only was she going to be staying, but she was going to stay with _them_, and Mia would have a sister.

They'd all been a little upset to hear that Rae had turned fifteen a few weeks before hand, but Letty had solved the problem my insisting that her upcoming sixteenth would also serve to celebrate Rae's birthday.

Alex left after spending the day with Rae catching up, and promised to visit at Christmas, if not sooner. He'd also managed to get Rae (and Tony) to promise to tell him if anything else happened, even if it would cause him problems, hating the fact that Rae had lied about being with her grandmother just to stop him from worrying.

Mia's dad had wasted no time in buying bunk beds, and all the Toretto's had gone to great effort to make Rae feel at home. Vince had kept his distance mostly, but Mia figured that was okay, since that meant he wasn't pissing her off, too.

Life didn't change too much, but she did have more help around the house, which was nice. The men weren't _complete_ slobs, but they were _men_. Mia didn't mind looking after them, doing the little things they forgot about, like putting the milk back in the fridge, or washing the sheets regularly, but it was still nice to have someone around to help.

Exactly a week after Rae had shown up on their doorstep, they were getting ready to celebrate Letty's birthday – a day late, thanks to her grandmother. There was a club not far from their neighbourhood that was open early to cater to underage clientele, although they wouldn't serve alcohol with out ID. Vince and Dom had grumbled a bit, but had agreed to act as chaperones, the only way Mia's dad would let them go alone.

Mia, Letty, and Rae were going to ride with Vince and Dom in his car, meeting up with Leon, Han and a few other kids from school. Vince and Dom had invited dates, which Letty barely blinked at, much to everyone's surprise.

The girls had gone out shopping for the occasion before hand, wanting to celebrate big time. Mia had bought this pretty white dress; it's lush tropical pink flowers setting off her tan skin and dark coloring. Letty was wearing leather mini-skirt with bright red fishnet tights, a too-tight Metallica t-shirt on top. She was still wearing her favourite boots.

The two of them had tried to convince Rae to wear something girlier, but had failed. Instead, they'd coaxed her into a tight pair of hipster jeans, and found a long-sleeved Zeppelin t-shirt at the same place Letty had found hers. She had flat out refused make-up, and threatened death when Mia had come at her with the curling tongs. It wasn't exactly party wear, but it was better than her usual baggy jeans and zipped-up sweatshirt.

When they were ready, the guys were already waiting in the car, making playful comments about how long it took women to get ready.

"Don't blame me!" Rae protested. "I was ready an hour ago!" She shook her head in disgust. "It's ridiculous," she muttered.

"Yeah, well excuse us for trying to look like _girls_," Letty replied rolling her eyes.

"Oh please," Rae replied, laughing. "You've _never_ liked being treated like a girl Vio_letty_."

"Shut up," Letty mumbled.

"Violet?! Your name's Violet? That fuckin' hilarious!" Vince roared, laughing hard in the passenger seat.

"Shut up Martelli. You tell anyone and I'll castrate you," she growled. Dom chuckled at the pained expression on his best-friend's voice, but quickly silenced when Letty focused on him. "That goes for you too, Toretto."

Mia looked between the two pale men in the front seat to the glaring Letty and shocked looking Rae, and couldn't help but laugh. This would be fun.

* * *

Dom was confused. Very confused. Letty and his date were talking. Chatting, actually. Letty usually just stood back and glared daggers at whoever was Dom's date at the time. But Letty was being…_nice_.

Definitely confused.

When his date, a cute little red head by the name of Alice, returned to the table he was sitting at, he frowned. "You know Letty?"

"Sure, we have a couple classes together," she said, shrugging casually.

"You're in the same year?" he asked, his brain not able to compute that Letty and his date were the same age.

"Yeah. Come on Dom, you already knew how old I am, what's the problem?" she pouted. He just shook his head, leading her out to the dance floor, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He'd always seen Letty as the annoying neighbourhood kid that followed him around, but she'd grown up since then. He watched her surreptitiously as she ground against her own date (her _own _date!), her short skirt sliding up her smooth, tanned legs.

Dom came to the startling realisation that Letty was a girl. A very _hot_ girl. And one that had been practically _throwing_ herself at him for years. So what was he waiting for?

A little later, Dom got his chance. Vince was in a dark corner, groping his date; and Leon, Han and Rae were having an animated conversation about kung-fu movies, judging by their gestures. Mia was sitting next to them, laughing and ducking when they got too carried away. Alice was sitting talking with a few of her own friends, and Letty's date was nowhere to be seen.

He walked up behind her, feeling her tense as he placed his hands on her hips. "Happy birthday, Letty."

"Thanks," she said evenly, not moving a muscle. Encouraged, he stepped closer, pressing his front against her back.

"How 'bout you and I go out sometime, catch a movie maybe?" he said casually, his lips brushing her ear.

The response he got was not what he expected. She gave a short laugh, stepping out of his arms. "I don't think so, Dom."

Stunned, he just stood there for a moment, then replied, "What? We both know you've been wantin' me to ask you out for years, and now I'm askin'."

"Exactly Dom. I've followed you 'round like a puppy dog and I'm sick of it. I've got a boyfriend now, and I ain't gonna ditch him just because _you've_ decided to notice I exist. You're too late," she said, staring at him challengingly.

_Damn_ if she didn't look sexy when she was angry.

"He's only trying to get in your pants, y'know," Dom countered.

Letty just cocked her eyebrow and looked pointedly over at Alice.

He shrugged, unrepentant. "So? It just means I know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, well maybe I'll let him," she countered, walking of towards where her date was emerging from the crowd around the bar.

Dom was shocked at the sudden wave of protectiveness that shot through him, and it had nothing to do with brotherly concern. It was sheer possessive jealousy at the though of Letty being with another guy.

Despite the desire to march over and rip her out for his hands, Dom just smiled. He always did like a challenge.


	7. Dealing

_**A/N: Thanks to **Special2, venus as a girl, Vinces-Girl, 2furious4u **and **Sparkles2004 **for their reviews!**_

**_Bad news: I failed my driving test. I actually did really well, except for one mistake. Just be glad you Americans don't have to deal with bloody roundabouts._**

**_Anywhoo, I know I said there would be no 2F2F, but I decided that with a little modification, it would fit in well._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

It felt good to be outta the hospital, but the Fort…it wasn't home. Not without Dom and Letty arguing or Leon and Jesse glued to the TV watching Bruce Lee kick ass. Even with the kid bouncin' around, it was too damn quiet.

Mia spent most of her time at the Café, tryin' to keep the business running. O'Connor was in and out with Alex, doing whatever it was that they were doing to try and fix things. Rae and the kid were around most of the time; at least until Rae got sick of him moping around and left.

Truth was, Vince was sick of moping around too. Rae had gotten rid of all the beer; condescendingly reminding him that he shouldn't drink with the meds he was taking. He couldn't drive, the cops still had all the cars impounded, and Rae and Alex flat-out refused to let him near their rentals. The garage was still closed, not that he would be much use with his right arm still messed up.

The cops hadn't pressed charges yet, but they were not-too-subtly watching him, and he had no doubt that if he made a break for it, they'd pick him up. He'd spoken to Dom a few days ago, he'd told Vince to do whatever Alex asked, and he had grudgingly agreed, but he felt pretty useless, sittin' around the house all week.

A week later, and not much had changed. Everyone was getting touchy, going a little stir-crazy. Vince's wounds were healing nicely, but he'd still need a shitload of physiotherapy before his arm would be back to normal. Jesse was still the same, which the doctors assured them was a good thing; that he was still stable, still hanging in there. The kid was a fighter.

Come Friday, Vince was feeling particularly surly. He'd run Rae off before lunchtime, and had been alone in the house for hours. He'd tried playing his guitar, but he couldn't even to _that_ thanks to his arm. The only thing he wanted to do was get pissed, but Rae had found the stash Hector had smuggled in.

While he was sitting watching some stupid re-run on TV, O'Connor came in, pausing when he saw Vince.

"Mia here?" he asked quietly.

"Nah, she's at the store," Vince replied, feeling the familiar shot of jealously shot through him.

Brian nodded, sitting down next to him on the couch. "Alex is with the D.A. and the Feds right now."

Vince just grunted.

"Where are Rae and Bella?" Brain asked after a moment.

Vince's head snapped round. "What'd you care?"

"Just wondering."

Vince grunted again.

The was another pause.

"I'm a cop," Brian stated.

"Yeah, I already got that," Vince snapped.

"I'm good at read people, most of the time," he continued as if Vince hadn't spoken.

"Mia told me about how close she and Rae were, despite their differences. She also told me that Rae had the hots for you when she was a kid."

Vince just shook his head, not really refuting what Brian was saying, just not seeing where this was going.

"Seeing Rae, a lotta things about the team make a little more sense, especially Mia and you." He paused, watching Vince's jaw clench. "Is Mia really the one want, or is she just fillin' in for someone else?"

Vince stood, his fists clenching at his sides, "What you tryin' to say, O'Connor?"

Brian stood up, looking Vince in the eyes. "Just that you only started asking Mia out after Rae left. Bit of a coincidence, ain't it?"

Brian shrugged, then walked out the back door, headed for his car. Before he even reached the bottom step, Vince had ploughed into him, and they started swinging at each other.

That was how Rae found them a few seconds later.

* * *

Mia came home after the lunchtime rush to find Bella sitting in front of the TV. "Where's you mom, sweetie?"

"Outside, with Vince and Brian," the small girl blinked. "I'm not 'upposed to go out there."

Mia frowned, heading towards the backyard.

"Mia? That you?" Rae called from outside.

"Yeah." She yelled back, stepping into the kitchen.

"Do they do this a lot?" Rae asked as Mia stepped outside.

Rae was sitting on the railing at the top of the stairs; eating potato chips and watching Vince and Brian pummel each other on the back lawn.

"Jesus Christ! Not again!" Mia cursed, stopping next to Rae.

"Ah, so that would be a yes, then," Rae commented casually.

Mia looked at Rae in confusion, she didn't seem bothered by the fact that the two men were killing each other.

"We gotta do something, make them stop!"

Rae looked at her a moment, the rolled her eyes. "Yo! Would you guys mind taking off your shirts? I would make a better show for the rest of us. Maybe you could break out the baby oil too."

Rae's nonchalance was more effective than Mia's pleading ever had been. Brian and Vince stopped; breathing laboured, and stared incredulously at her. Mia tried to hold back her laughter at their shocked expressions, but lost the battle at the next words that came out of Rae's mouth.

"Maybe you should just whip 'em out and measure 'em, get all this macho bullshit over and done with," she gestured with a potato chip before taking a big bite and staring back at them unblinkingly.

Vince and Brian's expressions went from shocked to sheepish. There was still tension between them, but for now, tempers had cooled. Before they could say anything, Rae shrieked, dropping to the ground and spilling chips everywhere.

"What is it?" Vince demanded, rushing oven, closely followed by Brian.

It was her turn to look sheepish as she pulled her vibrating phone from her back pocket. "It's Alex," she informed them, glaring at Vince's bark of laughter.

"Yeah?" she answered. "Yeah," he repeated, frowning. She turned to Brian. "He wants to talk to you, says you ain't answering your cell."

Brian patted his pockets, then pulled out his smashed cell phone, shooting Vince a glare. Vince just glared back, unrepentant. Before they could go at it again, Rae snapped her fingers in front of Brian's face. "Phone."

Shaking his head, Brian took the phone, the conversation short. Snapping it shut, he handed it back to Rae. "I gotta go," he said, nodding at Mia before taking off.

"Come on, V. Let's get you patched up," Rae said, walking back up the steps. "Mia, can you watch Ella for me?"

"Sure," Mia replied, much preferring the sweet three-year-old to the less mature twenty-four-year-old.

* * *

"Ouch! Watch it, would 'ya?"

"Aw, shush. Stop complaining ya big baby," Rae said as she wiped the blood from his split lip.

Vince was sitting on the closed toilet lid as Rae got out the first aid kit and patched him up.

"What were you two arguing about anyhow?" Rae asked as she cleaned the cut on his cheek, leaning in close.

"Nothin'," he muttered.

Rae sighed. "Look, I don't know what the problem between you two is, but cop or not, he saved your life, and came through for the team. You gotta cut him a break. He gave up everything to help you all." Her fingers feathered over his face and into his hair, feel for bumps and bruises.

"It ain't that, he was just talking about things he don't understand," Vince replied, not meeting her eyes, his jaw clenching.

"What was he talking about, V.?" she asked, looking down at him. When he reluctantly met her eyes, she felt a shock cut through her body, settling low in her abdomen.

Snapping out of it, she realised she was positioned between his thighs, her hands practically cradling his head. She quickly stepped away, turning her back and re-packing the first-aid kit. _No. No way I'm going there again. It took me way too long to get over him, I'm not going through that again._

"Nothin'," he repeated quietly.

There was an awkward silence, then Rae turned back with a smile. "You'll need to get some ice on that eye, Vinnie."

"Don't call me Vinnie. I hate when people call me Vinnie," he grumbled, standing up with a stretch.

"I know," she called back over her shoulder.

* * *

"Carter Verone," Agent Markham began, pacing in front of a large screen showing the photo and wrap sheet of said criminal. "Born in Argentina, but he's lived most of his life in Miami. Now he owns the biggest import-export business in the state. You see, unfortunately the Cartels have been successful in getting drugs into the state, but they've had a hard time getting the cash out. We've been surveilling him for a year, but we've never been able to put him, and the money together. We've swept his house, his warehouses…"

"Nothing," Bilkins interrupted the Customs agent. "Customs here has done a great job getting us this far, I'm just here to help get them over the top."

"I was able to get an agent in undercover, working travel and logistics for him. Recently Verone put _her _in charge of finding some new drivers."

"Right, although we can't confirm her status right now," Bilkins commented from behind Brian.

"What, you think she's flipped?" he asked, not yet understand why he and Alex were there.

"She one'a mine, she's alright," Markham defended firmly.

"She been in with Verone nearly a year, even lives at the compound with him now," Bilkins pointed out.

"Look, it was the FBI's idea to bring you in here. I'm against it, but we need some good drivers who can put this asshole and his money together. You're gonna roll with Agent Dunn here," Markham finished.

"And if I don't?" Brian asked, finally seeing where this was going.

"Well here's a list of laws you broke, not to mention the rest of the 'Team'," Bilkins replied tiredly, handing Brian a casefile. "Obstruction of Justice, Aiding and Abetting, you know the wrap sheet. Even with your games getting rid of the heists, there's still enough there to put some of you away from a good few years." Brian flipped through it, noticing everything; every speeding ticket, every misdemeanour that the committed while under surveillance. "Now we can make this all go away in the interest of Justice, _if_you're willing to play ball." Bilkins sat back.

Brian looked over at Alex. "If he does this, you'll drop all charges against all of them? And stop digging for more dirt?" Alex questioned.

Bilkins shrugged. "Believe or not, we've actually found someone more badass than Toretto. Now I'm sure you may have heard," he continued sarcastically, "Most of the six million dollars was found stashed at a warehouse rented under Johnny Tran's name. No one was killed during these hijacks, and as much as I'd like to see Toretto locked away, I much rather it was Verone. Now this is _not _an infinite get-out-of-jail-free card, but all the shit up to this point can disappear, providing you hold up your end of the bargain."

Alex looked at Brian. "It's your choice man."

Brian thought for a moment. It would be a big risk, but if Alex thought they were on the level, then it would mean getting the cops off their backs for good. "So what's the idea here? Dunn and I are supposed to be street racers?"

"That's right," Markham answered.

Brian looked over at Dunn. The guy was young, obviously a rookie, and by the looks of him had no idea about cars. He decided to test him. "So Dunn, looks like we're gonna be partners, bro," he said shaking the kid's hand. "Could you tell me right quick what would be a better motor for my Skyline, a Gallo 12 or a Gallo 24?"

Dunn looked towards Markham, then back at Brian. "Um," he cleared his throat. "twenty-four."

"I didn't know pizza places made motors," Brian replied, nodding at his soda. "See man, if this is what you're gonna give me, it's already over. I won't stand a chance. If you want to set me up, it's fine. But if you want me to get Verone, it ain't gonna work."

Markham grabbed the soda from Dunn irritably and Bilkins answered, "We'll get you somebody else."

"No way man. The only way I'll do this is if I get to pick the driver." He wanted to fix things for them all, but he needed someone he could trust riding with him, he was no good to anyone fed to the 'gators.

"You ain't getting Toretto, or any of the others. If you do this, you do it with out them." Bilkins replied.

"Not Toretto, someone else," Brian replied, his plan already forming.

"Alright O'Connor, who ya got it mind?" Bilkins sighed.

"This dude I grew up with in Barstow."

"Who's that?"

"Roman Pearce."

* * *

"Brian, you can't! You'll get yourself killed!" Mia cried.

"I have to. If I do this, we're all out of trouble, and Dom, Letty and Leon can come home. This is how I can fix it," he replied, gripping her by the shoulders.

"It's not your problem to fix! You weren't the one who fucked up! You don't have to fix everything!"

"Yeah," he said, cupping her cheek. "Yeah, I do."

Vince watched them, and realised that Brian was in love with Mia, and that as much as he himself cared about her, he wasn't. He looked over at Rae, and recognised her look. _Give the guy a break, he's one of us._ He nodded, understanding.

Mia continued in her attempt to talk Brian out of it. "So what? You sell your soul to the devil and hope for the best?!"

"It's more like I sell my soul to _catch_ the devil. And I trust Rome, he'll have my back," Brian replied quietly. "Alex is working on the paperwork just now. I'll need hook-up with street racers in Miami, do you think Dom can swing that?" Brian asked, turning to Vince.

"Yeah."

Mia's eyes snapped to Vince. "You can't honestly be okay with this? This is bullshit!" She looked at each of them, as if searching for sanity. "You can't let him do this!"

"It's his choice, girl," Rae replied solemnly.

Mia shook her head, shrugging off Brian's hands and running upstairs.

"Let her be," Rae replied as he moved to go after her. "I'll talk to her in a minute."

Brian just stood there, watching Vince as he stood up, tensing as he remembered their earlier fight, bruises already blossoming across both their faces. Vince stood in front of him, watching Brian, trying to figure out what to say without fucking up.

"She's right," he said finally. Brian frowned. "You don't have to do this."

Brian squared his shoulders, sighing. "I don't wanna fight you again Vince. I know you don't want me here…"

"That ain't it," Vince interrupted. "This wasn't your mess. It was Dom's, and mine. We should be the ones to fix it, not you. D'you think Dom would let Leon run off and fix things by himself? Put him self in danger? You've proved your loyalty, man. That's enough."

Brian was speechless. So was Rae for that matter.

After a moment, Brian found his voice. "I appreciate that, but I'm the only one that can do this, so I have to. For the Team."

Vince nodded.

"You call Dom, I'll go talk to Mia, okay?" Rae said moving towards the stairs. Just as she was about to disappear from sight, she threw Vince a smile, and he knew he'd said the right thing.

* * *

"How can you want him to do this?" Mia began as soon as Rae entered the room.

"I don't _want_ him to, but it's his choice," Rae replied calmly, not surprised by Mia's outburst.

"It shouldn't be. And Vince didn't exactly jump to stop him, did he?"

"Mia, after you left, Vince agreed with you. He made a pretty good argument for why Brian shouldn't go," she frowned. "Well, good by Vince's normal standards anyway."

Mia blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," Rae looked away, not wanting to know the answer to her next question. "Mia, has anything…happened…between you and Vince? I know the tension between him and Brian isn't just because of the whole undercover thing."

"No! Nothing!" Mia protested.

"But…" Rae prompted, knowing there was more.

Mia sighed. "He asked me out a couple times. Well, quite a lot actually. But I never said yes."

Rae just nodded, her face blank, but her insides churning.

"Rae, I said no because I never thought of him that way." She smiled sympathetically. "I think he was, I don't know, unconsciously substituting me for you. I don't think it was really me he wanted to go out with."

Rae snorted. "Yeah, right."

Mia placed a hand on Rae's arm. "I'm not just saying it 'cause you had a crush on him." Seeing Rae's surprised expression she continued, "Yeah, I know about that. You might have been good at covering it in front of the others, but not me. I am you're best friend, after all. He started asking me out just after we got that call from your brother, not long after my eighteenth. At first I didn't understand what had changed, but one night, when he was _really_ drunk, he asked me why I left, that kind of thing. The next morning, he didn't remember, and I didn't push."

"What else did he say?" Rae asked, dread creeping up her spine.

"Nothing, really. Just 'why did you leave, why didn't you call', that kind of thing." Mia shrugged. Relief flooded through Rae. _He hadn't told her._

Mia was looking at Rae curiously. Before the younger woman could ask anything more, Rae changed the subject back. "Brian's made his choice, you can't change that. But he needs to know that you still need him here. Let him know that he has a home. He needs _you_, girl. Tell him how you feel."

Mia nodded, then went to find Brian.

* * *

Vince stepped outside with Rae and Bella, giving them privacy.

"Mia…" Brian began.

"No. Let me speak," Mia interrupted. "I can't tell you that I'm okay with you doing this, because I'm not. But you've obviously made up your mind, so there's something you need to know."

She paused, taking a deep breath. "I love you."


	8. Computers, Cavemen and Cars

_**A/N: Thanks to **venus as a girl, 2furious4u **and **Sparkles2004 **for their reviews!**_

**_Not much to say about this chapter, really... I kind over skim over the car bits, 'cause I don't know much about them other than how to drive them, and even that's touch-and-go sometimes._**

**_I'll be off on my holidays soon, I _will _have my laptop with me, but my Internet access will be random, so I can't guarantee regular updates. Sorry._**

**_As always, Review and Enjoy!_**

"This is so fucked up!" Rae groaned.

"Shh!" Mia hissed. "The teacher will hear!"

"I don't give a flying fuck if the teach hears! It's his fault for making me do this shit in the first place!" Rae hissed back, lowering her voice despite her defiant words.

Mia just glared back.

"You have to save the basic file in a different format before you can make changes to the template," I disembodied, vaguely spaced-out voice answered.

"What?" Rae asked, looking around for the speaker.

"I said, you have to save—" the voice began, sounding slightly impatient.

"I heard what you _said_, man. I just have no clue what you _mean_," Rae snapped back, irritated. "Where the fuck are you?"

"Here," a skinny, pasty-white arm answered, wiggling it's chewed and chipped black-painted nails. Rae and Mia stood up, peering over the top of the partition that divided the different workstations. A small, twitchy-looking kid with a scraggly blond mullet and big, round, watery blue eyes blinked back.

"Who're you?" You're not in our class," Rae asked suspiciously, transferring her anger to the newcomer.

"They moved me up because apparently…" he blinked, spacing out. "Apparently, I'm good at computers and shit."

"So you can do what it is you said?" Mia asked quietly, smiling.

"Yeah, but you're supposed to do it yourself," he pointed out.

Rae lost her patience. "Dude, get your skinny ass round here and show us what we're meant to be doing!"

The new guy blinked again, then walked around the booth to sit in the chair Mia pulled up for him.

"Don't mind her, she just hates this class," Mia smiled apologetically.

"Really?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "I love it."

"That's because you can _do_ all this shit," Rae grumbled, glaring at the screen. He just shrugged and proceeded to show them what to do. He had to show them twice, 'cause he went too fast, but in their defence, they paid attention and took notes.

"There. You're all set," he said, standing up.

"Thanks! You're a lifesaver!" Rae said, smiling for the first time. The guy looked mildly shocked at the change in the once-surly girl, but hesitantly smiled back. "I'm Rae, and this is Mia."

At their expectant looks, he frowned, then realised what it was they were waiting for. "Jesse. Is me," he added, looking sheepish.

"Well, nice to meet you, Jesse. See you around!" Mia called as the bell rang and they girls ran to their next class.

* * *

At lunchtime, Mia nudged Rae and nodded towards the back of the cafeteria. Rae spotted Jesse sitting alone and picking warily at the 'meat of the day'. Rae noted that the sign didn't say what kind of meat. _Rat, probably. _They walked over, standing next to him before he looked up from his food.

"Can we join you?" Rae asked, sitting down before he could answer.

"Uh, sure."

Rae waited while Mia pulled a large tub out of her backpack. "You want some?" Mia asked, seeing Jesse eyeing the pasta salad jealously. "We made way to much last night, so there's plenty."

"Really? Cool!" he grinned, digging his fork in immediately. Rae and Mia smiled, joining him at a slightly slower pace.

They talked to Jesse, and found out that he had been put forward a year in his math and computing classes, but because of his ADD, he was struggling in his normal ones. As soon as he found out that Mia's dad was a mechanic, he wouldn't stop talking about his dad and his Jetta.

The school wouldn't let him take auto shop because they said he was too easily distracted and that it would be dangerous, but his dad let him help with working on the Jetta on their weekend together, so he knew the basics.

Mia and Rae didn't mind the car talk, they were used to it from the others, and there was just something about Jesse, and joyful, innocent enthusiasm that made him fun to be around.

From then on, every Wednesday after their shared class, they would sit and share lunch with Jesse, usually thanking him for helping them, but the rest of the time just because they enjoyed spending time with the younger boy.

* * *

One Friday, about a month after her sixteenth, Letty was over at the Toretto's for a barbeque. Tony had decided to have one 'just because', and for once, the guys were doing the cooking, even if Mia and Rae had done most of the prep work. The sun was shining, no clouds in sight, and Letty was ready to chill.

Although she had left Abuela's house wearing very conservative jeans and a tee, she had brought something else to change into. Slipping on the cut-off denim jeans over her black bikini set, she admired herself in the mirror, enjoying how it showed off her smooth, tanned curves while still being modest enough to wear in front of Mr. T.

Mia was wearing a white sundress, her long hair in loose pigtails. Rae was wearing an unzipped sweatshirt over one of her old t-shirts. Letty noticed that it was getting more than a little stretched over her chest, and made a mental note to mention it to her later.

As she walked out, she got a few good-natured catcalls from Leon and Han. She stuck her tongue out, knowing that it was just them playing, they had never shown anything but friendly interest in her, and she felt the same way. Vince and Tony just grinned at the boy's antics and shook their heads, focusing on the food.

Dom was glaring at her. As she met his dark eyes defiantly, he turned quickly back to the barbeque, jabbing at an unlucky piece of chicken.

_Good. Serves him right. _Letty had been truthful when she had told him it was too late. She was tired of lusting after him. But unfortunately, her body hadn't gotten the message yet. She still woke up, covered in sweat after dreams of _him_. She still imagined it was _him_ she was with when she kissed her boyfriend. She felt vaguely guilty about using him to get over Dom, but he didn't seem to be minding much.

Dom did though, every time he saw them together around the neighbourhood, he would shoot them a dirty look and stalk off. Letty pretended she didn't notice, but she was secretly thrilled. _She_ did that to him, even if it was just him wanting what he could have, it was still _her_ that he wanted.

She wasn't going to give in though; she had firmly decided that she was _over_Dominic Toretto. Completely. 'Course, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy watching him squirm.

Leon and Han were playing one-on-one, with Mia and Rae laughing from the sidelines. Rae was sitting on the grass in front of Mia's deckchair, and the younger girl was absently fixing her cousin's hair in haphazard braids. Rae didn't seem to notice, except when Mia hit a tricky spot in her usually tangle-free hair.

"You need a hair cut," Mia defended the third time Rae turned and snarled at her for pulling her hair.

"Do not," she grumbled, crossing her arms but not moving away from the other girl. Mia caught Letty's gaze and rolled her eyes, forcing Letty to choke back a laugh.

Before the two girls could start arguing, Tony shouted out that dinner was ready. Having just sat down, Letty decided to wait 'till last before moving towards the grill where Dom was serving a line of hungry teenagers. As she stood next to him, waiting for him to pick up some of the chicken off the grill, she looked up and noticed him staring straight down at her cleavage.

Rejoicing inside, she kept her face neutral as she said, "Breast, please."

His eyes snapped up and he let out a strangled cough. "What?!"

"I'll have a chicken breast, please," she repeated, not letting her expression lip. He stared at her for a moment, the placed the chicken on her raised plate, giving her a dark, heated look as he did so, making her insides melt like only he could.

"Thanks," she said cheerfully as she walked towards the table, putting an extra sway in her hips, knowing he would notice. What he couldn't see was the victorious smirk on her face.

* * *

By the end of the night, when Han and Leon had already left for their respective foster homes, and Letty had reluctantly returned to Abuela's, Vince and Dom were already more than a little drunk. Tony had gone to bed, telling Mia and Rae to wake him if the boys got to rowdy or tried to do anything stupid. _Well, stupider than destroying the few brain cells they already had,_ Rae amended, not yet understanding the allure of alcohol.

She had already figured them out. When Dom got drunk, he usually just got more laid back, talking more and occasionally rambling, which was okay. When Vince got drunk however, he reverted to focusing on three things: food, women and more drink. It was what she privately referred to as her 'Caveman Theory'. But while Vince was a much more entertaining drunk than Dom, there was always the volatile temper than simmered closer to the surface.

Rae had found that despite her earlier misgivings about Vince, he was actually okay. Although he wasn't as book-smart as some of them, he had street smarts and good instincts, especially when it came to cars. He could find a way to fix most things, and was real good at playing the guitar. But when he started drinking, it was like he reverted to some less-evolved version of himself, although Mia insisted there wasn't any difference. Rae wasn't scared of him anymore, and didn't mind spending more than five minutes in a room with him now that he'd stopped trying to provoke her.

She had gotten even closer to the Toretto's, they were starting to feel like family, but Vince remained somewhat of a stranger. She didn't like the way he stepped on eggshells around her. She knew the others did it too, but it was like he was afraid to even discuss the weather around her in case he said something wrong. She hadn't worked up the courage yet to tell him, but it pissed her off more than his old asinine comments.

* * *

"I want her, man," Dom slurred a little, leaning back in the lounger.

"Who?" Vince asked frowning. The girls had gone to bed a couple Corona's ago and now it was just the two of them.

"Letty. Violet Marquez," he answered, with a chuckle at her full name. "LEETT-eeeeeee!" he repeated, throwing his arms wide and spilling a little beer on the floor.

"Then go for it, brother," he hiccupped. "She was lookin' _fine_ today."

"I did," Dom grumbled, saying what his ego could never admit sober. "At her birthday. She shot me down, man. Way down."

"Pshh," Vince waved off. "She's hot for you, he's jus' playin' hard to get. Keep tryin'. Or go for someone easier. A girl's a girl, righ?" he consoled.

Dom frowned, shaking his head then moaning as the room started to spin around him. "But she's _Letty_." Not knowing why that was important, but just knowing that it was, he didn't know how to explain.

But Vince was already snoring gently, and Dom managed to stumble to his room before passing out, drunken thoughts of Letty still dancing through his mind.

* * *

Dom and Vince watched as girls sauntered around flirtatiously, guys boasted about their wheels and music thumped through a dozen different speakers. Their eyes gleamed with excitement as they watched brightly colored cars speeding the quarter mile to victory or defeat. It was a hell of a lot more exciting than racing for the railway lines.

"It'd be expensive, really expensive," Dom commented, not taking his eyes off the action.

"Yeah," Vince replied, staring in awe.

"We'd need to work hard."

"Yeah."

"Get Leon, Han, hell, even _Letty_ to help us."

"Yeah."

"It'd take a long time to get any respect."

"Yeah."

"We've gotta do it, man."

"Hell, yeah."

* * *

"Damn it!" Vince cursed, kicking the wheel of the car. "This isn't going to work. We need someone who can work out the kinks. Plan it out, do all the computer shit."

"And the cost," Dom murmured in agreement. The other three mechanics stood back silently, waiting for his decision.

Rae and Mia looked at each other knowingly. "We know someone," Mia said quietly.

"Yeah, he's young, but he's a wizard with computers and math. Jesse. He's kinda…" Rae trailed off, shrugging.

"Unique," Mia offered diplomatically.

"Yeah. He has ADD, but he loves cars, helps his dad out with his. I bet he could help you," Rae continued.

Dom frowned, but shrugged. "It's worth a try, it's not like we have anything to loose at this point."

They had been working for weeks on getting Dom's car up to standard, but they couldn't get it quite up to the same level. Tony had helped them when he could, but business was good in the garage and he was working long hours to get everything done.

"We'll bring him 'round tomorrow," Mia declared, knowing that Jesse would jump at the chance to help out.

She wasn't wrong.

The next day, Rae walked up with a very jittery Jesse at her side. "Dom, this is Jesse," she said proudly, nudging the nervous but excited boy forward.

Dom held out his hand, but Jesse brushed past, eyes fixed on the car. "Sweet ride, dude! What've you got under there?"

Dom followed him over, listening to Jesse gush. Rae sat down next to Mia, watching them from a distance. Jesse was gesturing wildly, and a slow smile was spreading across Dom's face.

* * *

Letty, Leon and Han were walking slowly to Han's latest foster home. They had just finished working their first full day with the new kid, Jesse, and already a few of the minor faults had been identified and fixed, and he had managed to figure out their main problem, and they had already made a start on fixing it. The only problem they had working with him was that Jesse's automotive knowledge wasn't complete, but he listened eagerly whenever some one took the time to explain, and he remembered everything.

Letty was pleased that they were finally getting somewhere; it had been frustrating work before. It didn't help that Dom had been doing everything he could think of to bother her. Taking off his shirt (because of the heat), bumping into her ('cause she was in the way), and watching her (just to make sure she didn't fuck up), and now her blood was boiling, but she convinced herself that it was just anger at his petty games.

She had broken up with her boyfriend, he didn't understand why she spent so much time working at the garage, since he wasn't into cars. He had given her an ultimatum: him or the cars. He had been confident in his own appeal, and had thrown a tantrum when she had easily chosen the cars. There was no way she was giving them up, even for a guy. She hadn't told Dom yet; she didn't want him to get the wrong idea or anything.

She and the boys chatted about the car, about how cool the races would be, and other random stuff until they got to Han's, and he turned to them, he dark hair flopping over his left eye. "You comin' in? Mary is making pot roast tonight, she said you guys could join us if you want."

Mary was his latest foster-mother, and seemed genuinely nice. It was a shame he'd only be there for a come months before being shifted off elsewhere.

"Nah, bro. I gotta get back or Abuela will flip," Letty replied regretfully.

Han nodded, understanding. "I'll be there in a minute, man," Leon answered, obviously wanting a word with Letty. Han frowned, puzzled, but left the to of them alone.

Leon gave Letty a hard look.

"What?"

"What's going on between you and Dom?" he asked in his gravelly voice.

"Nothin'" Letty protested, avoiding her friend's knowing eyes.

"Aw, come on, girl. He's been playing with you all day! We both know if Dom Toretto wants a chick, he ain't shy about tellin' her. So why's he messin' with you? You musta said something, seein' as you ain't joined at the lips," he observed, grinning.

"Fine," she grumbled. "He hit on me at my party, and I turned him down. I ain't interested anymore."

Leon laughed hard. "Bullshit! You've been after him since we were ten!"

"Yeah, well, things change," she said haughtily.

Leon threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling their heads close. "I think," he began. "That you're just scared to give it a try, 'cause maybe it won't turn out the way you've been dreamin' for the past six years. Now that he's _finally_ noticed you, you back off because you don't want to risk it."

Letty stood silent, his words ringing true, worried that anything she said would be a confirmation.

"But maybe," he continued. "Just maybe, it _will_ work out, and you've just gotta have a little faith." He pulled back, giving her a brotherly peck on the forehead before loping up the front steps. "See ya at school, girl."

Letty stood for a minute, then began slowly walking back home, thinking over what Leon had said. What he said made sense, and Letty was no longer sure she was ready to give up Dom, not wanting to live in regret for the rest of her life. But she couldn't just fall in his lap, she had spent six years lusting after him, the least he could do was suffer for a few more weeks. Days maybe.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the low rumble of a car as it pulled along slowly beside her. Turning, it was like her mind had summoned him to her, 'cause there Dom was, smirking from behind the steering wheel.

"You want a ride?" he asked. "Home, I mean," he added, doing the same thing she had done at the barbeque.

She kept walking, not trusting herself with him yet.

"I'll even let you drive."

She was a goner.

She peeled away from the kerb, tyres screeching, and Dom gripped the 'oh, shit!' handle sharply, his knuckles white.

"I know this sounds stupid coming from me, but there _is_ a speed limit round her."

"So?" she countered.

"It's rush hour," he pointed out as she swerved in between the different cars.

She just grinned.

When she pulled up down the street from her house, the adrenaline was pumping through her body and she was feeling reckless. She couldn't help herself. She leaned towards Dom, kissing him hard, but fast, pulling back before he could react.

"Thanks for the ride. We'll have to do it again sometime," she purred, then pulled herself out of his car. His jaw was open in shock, and she took the opportunity to walk of before he could take control of the situation.

She had actually kissed him! She couldn't believe it! And she knew she was going to have to find a way to do it again, and again, and again.


	9. Miami Pt01

_**A/N: Thanks to **venus as a girl **(just wait, sweetie.)**, Martell2981, kursk, **and **2furious4u **for their reviews!**_

**_There's a little more Dom/Letty, Vince/Rae development here, but not a huge amount - bear with me! I never intended to write this as a re-write of 2Fast2Furious, so I'm not going to re-hash the whole thing. Instead, you can assume it goes mostly like the movie, except for the bits I write here. Use your imagination. Or your DVD player._**

**_Sorry for the relatively short chapter, I'm going on a roadtrip and I figured you guys would want whatever you could get. Part two will come soon, I promise._**

**_Happy birthday to Matt Schulze!_**

**_As always, Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Brian wasn't happy.

Rome wasn't happy.

Markham was too twitchy; the dude was wound way too tight.

Verone was a vicious bastard.

And Agent Fuentes, well, no one really new which side _she_ was on.

Bilkins seemed to be the only one lookin' out for them, and considering Brian's past with him, that wasn't a comforting thought.

The two of them had stopped of in Barstow to pick up Roman. It may have been a few years since they'd seen each other, but Brian still knew his old childhood friend. Rome would take the deal, which he did, but not before he let off a little steam in the form of an embarrassing fight that was a hair's breadth away from flapping arms and pulling hair; not that Rome had much hair to pull now that he'd lost the 'fro he used to rock. He still had a lot of attitude, but Bri knew he'd forgive him; they were already bickering like kids.

Dom had hooked them up with this crazy dude Tej, who had his hands in _everything_. He and his crew had taken them in, giving them a place to crash while they built up the reps locally. They had figured it would be better for their cover if they had some time on the blacktop instead of going in cold.

They had met Agent Monica Fuentes. Brian couldn't deny that she was hot, and even that he was drawn to her a little, and any other time he might have gone for her, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Mia had said to him.

She'd run off after she'd said it, and avoided being alone with him afterwards, so he hadn't had a chance to reply, not that he knew what he would say. He cared a lot about Mia, but it wasn't that long ago that they had hooked up, and although he had given up everything thing to help her and the Team, he wasn't sure he was in love with her. He'd never been in love before, just lust, _lots _of lust.

Rome wasn't kidding when he said that Brian was always getting in trouble because of a female, it was just that this time, Rome had got the girl wrong. Rome thought he was hot for Monica, but that wasn't why he was always watching her. He wanted to know if she'd flipped. It was one thing to let a thief get away, but to go native with Verone? Too far. She seemed on the level, but she had been in for a long time, and seemed _real _close to her mark.

He and Rome had passed Verone's test, got the job, but now it looked like Markham was going to turn on them the first chance he got. Earlier that night, he and Rome had raced the Italian Stallions tag-team style for their wheels. It had been a close thing, but they had won. Brian wasn't much into muscle cars, but the Camaro and the Challenger were some _sweet_rides, even if they did need a few Tej-made modifications. They weren't planning to cut out, but they didn't need Markham showing up all trigger-happy again, and the Evo and Spyder were _wired_.

But after the race, they had gone to Pearl to meet Verone and Fuentes. Brian had spoken to Monica alone and decided that she was one of the good guys, but then Verone had pulled that stunt with the dirty cop and the dirty rat, showing just how psychotic he really was. And Monica, she had helped him with barely any hesitation. Brian had kept repeating what Dom had once told him. _"Brian, don't lose that cool of yours, that's your meal ticket." _Even Rome was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

When he and Rome were on their way back to Tej's, Rome wouldn't shut up about her. Brian kept defending her, but part of him wondered.

The next morning, he woke to the sound of someone in the room of his houseboat. Before he could reach for the gun under his pillow, he felt the bed bow under the weight of another person and he looked over to see one Monica Fuentes sitting next to him.

She was dishevelled, soaking wet, wearing a tied-up tee and shorts. Not her usual glamorous self. She looked scared.

"What're you doin' here?" he asked, concerned.

"Brian, they're gonna kill you. I heard him telling Enrique and Roberto. Once you finish the run, they're putting a bullet in your head," she warned, her breathing heavy.

"You're sure you heard them right?" he questioned, eyes wide.

"I'm sure," she answered, nodding. "I'm sure."

Before he could say anything more, Rome burst in.

"Verone's boys is outsi…" his voice drifted off as he took in Monica sitting next to a half naked Brian. "Oh, I see what they lookin' for. Your little girlfriend 'ere."

A shadow moved outside the window, and both Monica and Brian moved closer to look.

"They don't know I'm here," she whispered disbelievingly. "I snuck out!"

"What the hell are they doin' here then?" Rome asked, his voice hushed.

"I don't know, maybe they're guessing!" she hissed back. Their relationship was less than friendly, each seeming to rub the other the wrong way.

"Hey, go stall them," Brian told Rome as he pulled on his shirt. "Go stall them for like two minutes."

"Check her, homey," Rome insisted, pointing a Monica. "Check her."

Rome walked out, leaving them alone.

"Found what you was lookin' for," they heard Rome call from outside. "Hey buddy, hi guys, how ya doin'?" There was a pause. "Aww, man, y'all still mad about y'all car? Don't even trip homey. Come on, man; can't take a joke?"

Monica turned to Brian. "Brian this isn't about being a good cop anymore, or, or, or doin' your job, I mean they're gonna kill you, you guys gotta pull out."

Rome continued to bullshit Verone's two heavies outside.

"Okay?" she asked, looking for conformation.

"Yeah," had answered.

"Don't make that run, Brian. Don't make that run," she pleaded. She moved to kiss him, but he pulled back.

"I… I can't," he said, not wanting to hurt her. She looked at him a moment, then nodded, giving him a weak smile. "Be careful," he warned as she went to hide in the bathroom. He went to join Rome with the two goons outside.

"Donde está?" Number one asked Brian as he came out on deck.

"Can," he replied, staring them down.

Suddenly, things got bad. Number One held a gun at them while Number Two went to check the boat. Brian was praying he stayed away from the bathroom, knowing that if Monica was found onboard they were all dead.

But it was clear. Some how she'd managed to get out. They were clear.

Unfortunately, Rome chose that moment to start mouthing off again, and things got very interesting. Brian had a gun pressed against Number One's chest as Number Two held one at Rome's head. They were all yelling in different combinations of English and Spanish, and thing were getting worse until a voice cut through.

"Enough, enough!" Verone scolded from the dock. "Shut up. Shut up," he ordered both his goons. "It's over, come on. It's over, let's go." The four men separated slowly, Verone continuing to encourage them.

"I'm glad to see you boys are getting along so well," Verone smirked, "because tomorrow, Roberto and Enrique are going to be riding along with you, just so we don't have any problems. I'll see you guys in a bit." He turned and stalked off, One and Two shooting them dirty looks as they followed him like faithful dogs.

Once they were out of hearing range, Rome turn to him. "What they hell was she doin' in there, man?"

So Brian explained.

* * *

"Letty," his voice rumbled. She ignored him. "Letty," he repeated, his voice a little stronger.

"What, Dom?" she snapped, not wanting to speak to him 'cause Leon had left them all alone for once.

"We gotta talk," he said, coming to stand next to her by the window. She seemed to do that a lot nowadays, stand by windows and think.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said firmly, not looking at him.

"Bullshit. You've been giving me the cold shoulder since we got here."

"Excuse me for not feeling like fuckin' right now, what with Jesse in the hospital and the rest of us facing charges!" she snapped.

"That's not it and you know it. You've been brushing me off, avoiding me. You ain't even raggin' at me for staying out all hours. Somethin's wrong," he pushed, spinning her around to face him.

"Yeah, Dom. Somethin's wrong. Jesse's sick. V. and Mia are in trouble. We're on the run livin' in this shitty apartment," she finally looked at him, brown eyes meeting black. "I don't trust you anymore."

His head snapped back like she'd hit him.

"I know you've been fuckin' around on me. I knew from the start. But _you _got us into this mess. _You_ told us it would be okay, talked us into it. And when _all _of us said somethin' didn't feel right, you pushed on anyway, knowin' we'd follow you. You used us, used our loyalty. I don't know you anymore, and I don't trust you anymore. I don't know if I can forgive you, Dom." She turned back to the window. "I don't know if I can forgive myself."

She heard him take a breath like he was going to say something, but he let it out in a gust before moving away.

She had thought finally saying how she felt would make things clearer, like maybe she'd suddenly know what to do, or he'd know what to say to make everything better. But instead, the huge, gaping hole inside her got just a little bigger, and she prayed that something would change soon.

* * *

Brian and Rome walked into the secure meeting place, only to find Dunn, Bilkins and Markham standing and waiting for them.

"Nice shirt Bilkins," Brian commented, referring to the yellow, fish-printed monstrosity the big man was wearing.

"It's may day off," he replied sardonically.

"Yeah. Well anyhow, this is the deal," Brian began, Roman silent for once at his side. "Last night Verone threatened a cop into giving us a window. We're driving to an airstrip, in the Keys, offa Norwood Avenue. Verone had a plane there and he's takin' off for good."

"Wait a minute, how do you know this?" Markham asked, always suspicious.

"Monica," Brian answered.

"She's doin' her job," Rome grudgingly agreed. "She warned us."

"She warned you about what?" Bilkins asked.

"Verone plans to kill us after we give him the money," Brian replied.

"Driving into an ambush was never part of the deal," Bilkins stated. "I'm calling this off."

"Like hell you are!" Markham cut in. "This is a Custom's case, Bilkins, no-one's calling this off unless _I _do," he snapped, soundly like a spoilt child. "Look, this is real simple. You make the run; you get Verone and his cash together so I can move in for the bust, alright? You don't, I will find enough charges on you to make you both disappear. Take these," he said handing them a couple of radios. "We're gonna have GPS on you the whole time just so you don't get any cute ideas," he sneered, walking toward the exit.

"And to make sure nothing happens to them, right?" Bilkins called after him.

"Yeah, right," Markham replied sarcastically.

Brian was pleasantly surprised that Bilkins actually seemed concerned for their safety, and even Agent Dunn seemed uncomfortable with his bosses gung-ho attitude. 'Course, that didn't do him and Rome any good. They'd be lucky to get out of this alive.

They walked out after Markham, watching him stalk off towards his car.

"That guy's a dick, man," Roman commented. "Let me get this right. If we don't do this, then we go to jail. But if we do it, Verone's gonna kill us."

"It's a hell of a deal, huh?" Brian agreed, feeling guilty for getting his friend involved in this mess.

"Yeah, maybe it is," he said, looking out over the water. "But I know this guy that's ready to dump an _ass _full of loot in our cars. And I can think of two reasons why Verone doesn't need that money anymore."

"Ahh, here we go!" Brian grinned, know where his old friend was going.

"You and me, just like the old days. What d'ya think?"

Brian frowned. "I can't run out on this." His face smoothed out into a grin. "But I think they messed with the wrong two guys, that's what I think."

He pulled out his cell and pushed speed dial, bumping fists with Rome.

"Yo Tej, what's up bro?"

* * *

Hector had been to visit again. Rae knew, because she was currently trying to coax the half-empty bottle of cheap tequila away from Vince. There were already a few empty beer bottles on the ground.

"Come on, V., gimme the bottle. I think you've had enough."

"Nuh-uh," he grinned, shaking his head slowly. "I'm jus' getting' started, sweetheart."

"Gimme the bottle," she said, using the mom voice that _always_ worked on Ella.

Vince's arm twitched, but he caught himself. "Nope. You'll just pour it out."

"Maybe I won't. Maybe I want to get pissed, too."

"Yeah, righ'. You're the Booze Nazi. You don't know how to loosen up," he slurred, waving the bottle a little.

"Try me," she challenged, standing with her hands on her hips.

Vince looked slowly at her, then at the bottle, then back at her again, as if calculating the odds. He grinned. "What the hell. But you gotta swallow the worm."

She nodded, stepping forward and taking the bottle from his loose grip. Not breaking eye contact, she raised the bottle to her lips and took a long swig, feeling the worm sliding down her throat. The tequila burned, but contrary to what V. believed, she knew how to handle her liquor.

As she held the bottle up so he could see the conspicuous _lack _of worm, he let out a loud bark of laugher and tried to swipe back the drink, but considering he was more than tipsy while she was just a little buzzed, she danced backwards towards the kitchen, taking another swig before tipping it down the sink. Everything else was either already down there or already inside Vince.

"Ah, fuck," Vince mourned, watching it swirl down the drain, swaying slightly. "We were just startin' to have fun!"

"Yeah, yeah. 'Cause nobody ever had fun without alcohol. Now let's get you to bed." A second after she'd spoken, she realised how that sounded.

Obviously, Vince wasn't too drunk to notice it too. "Was that an offer, sweetheart?"

"Dream on, Martelli. You can barely stand." He looked like he was about to say something else, but she spoke before he could. "I won't have my daughter walking in on you and this mess," she gestured to the messy living room, "and Mia will be back with her any second."

Vince nodded slowly. Even if he didn't know what to do with an eager three-year-old, he seemed to understand that there were certain boundaries.

"Come on, I'll help you down the stairs," she said, pulling his good arm over her shoulder and supporting him as they made they're way downstairs.

Things had been quiet around the Fort with Mia not being her usual cheerful self. She was clearly worried about Brian, they all were, even Vince, though he hid it well. Mia seemed to enjoy spending time with Ella, she said chasing around after the toddler took her mind off things. Rae was just happy for a little peace and quiet.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and managed to stagger towards Vince's room. She pushed open the door, surprised to find it almost exactly the same as before she left. Messy, cluttered, CD's everywhere; rock stars and half-naked girls on the walls; and his precious guitar on a stand in the only clear part of the room.

He was fast falling asleep against her, still standing. She slapped his cheek lightly.

"Come on V. I can't do all the work here." She contemplated just dumping him on the bed, but she took pity and decided to a least make him comfortable. She stood him up, his eyes blinking dazedly. She pulled his vests off, dumping them on the floor, trying not to look at his broad, bare chest in front of her. She began to loosen his pants, but stopped when she realised he wasn't wearing any underwear. If she went any farther, he would _definitely_ get the wrong idea.

She looked up to find him gazing down at her. She was expecting another smart-assed come-on, but was thrown off by what he said next.

"You're so beautiful, Rae," he sighed, almost as if he were talking to himself. "I missed you."

Then his lips were on hers, soft but strong, kissing her hard and deep. She could taste the alcohol on his breath, but part of her didn't mind. When V. started to sway against her, she came to her senses, pulling back.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You're drunk, V. And when you get drunk, you always want some tail. We both know that we'd regret it in the morning, so just go to sleep, okay?" she reasoned, pushing him gently onto the bed then stepping back.

He nodded, his mind once again drifting off, and he fell back against the pillows.

She walked out of his haven, shutting the door gently behind her and let out a gusty sigh.

"Damn."

She walked to the downstairs bathroom and grabbed some mouthwash, getting rid of the tequila from her breath. Before she left to clean up upstairs, she took one last look in the mirror. Her eyes were shining, her lips were swollen, and her hair was mussed up. She shook her head, straightening herself out.

_Just once, it would be nice to kiss Vince when he wasn't drunk._


	10. Tingles

_**A/N: Thanks to **2Furious4u, Sparkles2004 **(hold on, it's coming soon!)**, Vinces-girl **and **venus as a girl **for their Reviews.**_

**_Okay, this chapter has a lot more Dom/Letty action, and a wee bit of Vince/Rae development, too._**

**_Happy birthday to Michelle Rodrigez, and wish me one too, 'cause it the big 2-0 tomorrow!_**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Something was wrong. Dom felt like he'd stepped into some kind of parallel world. Mia was covered in grease. Rae was flipping through fashion magazines. Vince was laughing. For the first time in forever, his dad hadn't opened up the shop. And Letty was ignoring him.

Well, not really _ignoring_ so much as treating him like normal. Like she hadn't kissed him. She would walk past and _not_ brush against him. She would ask him something _without_ it having some double-meaning. She would look at him _without _her gaze lingering.

It was driving him crazy.

Of course, to everyone else, he seemed his normal, cool self, but inside he was spinning. _He _was the one that did this to girls, not the other way around. Why was she so different? Why was she acting like nothing had happened? Why did he care?

_Shit._

He watched as she worked with Leon and Han, feeling jealousy shot through him as he saw how close they were, despite knowing that they were nothing more than friends. He resented that she was so open, so happy with them. That _he _wasn't the one making her laugh.

It was too much. He hated feeling so out of control. He'd make her admit how she felt about him if he had to lock her in a room 'till she did. Then he'd kiss her 'til neither of them could breathe.

He did all the things he knew drove girls crazy. He stood close, invading her space. He gave her long looks and slow smiles. She didn't even blink.

Dom wondered where his dad was. He had put Jimmy, his second-in-command and best friend in charge of the shop. Dom and Vince were rushed off their feet but still found time to work on their car in between jobs. Letty, Leon, Han and Jesse had been working solidly, and Letty had even roped Mia into cleaning engine parts for them. No one was going near Rae; the sight of her frowning intently at the fashion magazine was even causing Vince to give her funny looks.

His dad came back just as they were shutting up, pulling Jimmy into his office and closing the door. Dom frowned, but saw Letty moving towards the street on her way home, and quickly went to intercept her.

"Letty! Hold up!" She stopped and turned, but didn't say anything, just looking at him patiently. "Uhh…" He cleared his throat. "Where're you goin'?"

"Home," she said, her look not changing. "Was there something you wanted?"

"You kissed me," he said accusingly.

"Yeah? And?"

"And you said you weren't interested. So which is it?" He asked, loosing his temper.

She looked at him hard. "Why are you interested in me, Dom? Really?"

"Well, I mean… Well…" he trailed off, not sure what he was looking for. It only seemed to piss her off.

"Is it 'cause I suddenly had these?" she asked, grabbing her breasts crudely. "Is it 'cause you suddenly realised that I'm another pussy you haven't tapped?" she snarled. Taking a deep breath, she continued more calmly. "I don't want to be one of your whores, Dom. I won't."

He blinked, thinking over what she said, trying to figure out what the truth was. "It ain't like that, Letty. I…" he sighed, trying to find the words and failing miserably. "Maybe I only just noticed that you're…_available_, but if I just wanted a quick lay, I know a ton of girls who would be more that happy to oblige and not even half the trouble—shit, that came out wrong!" he rushed as her eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath, knowing he had to get this right. "There are a lot of girls out there, Letty. But none of them are you."

She blinked, then gave him an unreadable look. Finally she looked him in the eyes and said, "You can pick me up on the corner at seven tomorrow. Take me somewhere nice."

With that, she walked off, leaving Dom open mouthed behind her. It took him a moment to realise what she had said, and when he did he could have jumped for joy. Of course, this is Dom we're talking about, so he just grinned.

* * *

"Pops, what's goin' on?" Dom asked suddenly at dinner. Rae, Mia and Vince all looked up from their food.

Tony set his fork down with a _click._ "What do you mean, son?"

"I'm you didn't open up today, you were talking to Jimmy alone, and I found an appointment card for the bank. Are we goin' out of business?" he asked solemnly. The other three shared a panicked look.

"No! No, just the opposite." He sighed in exasperation. "I was gonna wait to tell you all 'till it was all sorted out, but I guess now's as good a time as ever." He paused dramatically.

"Dad!" Dom and Mia prodded together.

"Okay, okay! I'm expanding Toretto's. I found a sweet old warehouse that would be perfect. It's twice the size of where we are now, and there's a small piece of land attached where we could keep the trailer," he said, referring to the silver beast currently blocking up the drive.

Rae and Vince were immensely pleased that Toretto's wasn't going out of business; they were staying on the Toretto's charity, after all. Mia was beaming with happiness for her father, but Dom was frowning.

"Can we afford that, Dad?"

"That's what I was going to the bank for. If we mortgage the house and the old garage, and turn it into a store, we can afford to buy it. The larger space means we'll be able to take on more jobs, and I'm even thinking about hiring on Letty, Leon and Han as apprentices. I'll need a lot from you, all of you, if we're going to make it work."

They all nodded in agreement. "Who's going to run the store?" Mia asked, puzzled.

"Well, Jimmy's wife has been looking for something to fill her days with since their youngest left home, and they've been livin' offa his wage alone for years, so minimum wage is okay for now. I was thinking you two might help her, at least at first," he replied, looking at Rae and Mia. They both nodded enthusiastically.

"Great," Tony said, grinning wide. "If we work together, we can get it all running in no time, and I'll be able to retire before I'm too old to lift a wrench," he joked, digging into his dinner.

* * *

Letty was so nervous. She was waiting on the corner for Dom, dressed in a pair of tight, low-rise jeans and a red peasant blouse. She had told Dom to take her someplace nice, so she didn't want to dress _too_ skimpily.

She couldn't believe she had agreed to go out with him. After he had kissed him in the car, she had been euphoric. But as soon as she got home to her bitter Grandmother, her bubble burst. She began thinking that maybe Dom wasn't really interested, that he was just playin' his old games, just with a new partner.

But what he'd said to her yesterday, after nearly screwing up that is, was almost…sweet. Not the most charming or elegant request for a date she'd ever had, but it meant more than that to her. She just hoped he didn't break her heart.

His car came cruising round the corner and stopped in front of her. She pulled open the door before he could say anything through the open window.

"Hi," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Hi," he replied just as awkwardly.

Silence.

He pulled away, headed toward the nearby commercial district.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Nah's Thai Food, is that okay?"

"Yeah," she said, pleased. It was a nice, private place, not too flashy, but enough to show he had listened to her request.

"I thought we might go to a movie afterwards, if you want."

"Sure, if there's something good."

More silence.

Things got a little better when the made it to the restaurant. They talked almost desperately about the food, different places they had eaten in the past, just grateful for something to fill the awkward silence.

By the time the were onto dessert, things had relaxed a little, and they began talking about the car, about Tony's plans, about the parts of their lives that they shared. Not the usual first date conversation, but considerably easier.

They drove to the local cinema, and bought tickets for an action film they had both seen already. As they walked into the already dark cinema, Letty tripped over someone's purse in the aisle, but was saved from an embarrassing stumble by Dom's strong arms wrapped around her.

Desire shot through her at his touch, and it was all she could do not to moan out loud.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem," she felt him rumble against her.

"Shhhhhh!" someone hissed from the audience. Letty glared sightlessly into the dark as Dom took her hand and led her to some seats near the back, trying not to disrupt things any more than they already had.

Settling into the mildly uncomfortable seats, her attention fixed on the screen. It was already a few minutes into the movie, but they hadn't missed much. The plot line was basic, predicable, even if you _hadn't _seen it before, and Letty was focused less on the movie and more of the large form next to her.

Her eyes were still fixed on the screen, but she could smell is spicy, musky scent, and the heat from his body was seeping into her, setting her body humming. She had lied to Dom when she'd said she might sleep with Jason, her boyfriend. Maybe she would have eventually, but he was only the first guy she'd ever dated, although she had kissed a couple other guys before that.

But with Dom, it was a whole other ball-game. He was a man, not a boy. He might be nice and take things slow, but she had no doubt where they'd end up. She should be nervous, but she was having a hard enough time stopping herself from jumping him right there in the theatre. It was like he was her Kryptonite.

About and hour into the movie, Dom slipped his arm over her shoulders. No goofy fake-yawn, just a casual movement, like he had every right to place it there. She didn't shrug him off.

For the next half hour, she sat, tense and horny, trying not to move, trying not to breath in case he figured out how affected she was my his presence.

A half and hour before the end of the film, the arm over her shoulders shifted, and his hand started to play idly with her hair, his fingertips brushing her neck every once in a while.

It was too much.

She turned, her lips meeting his hard enough that their teeth clicked together. Dom pulled her closer, his hand buried in her hair. Letty gripped his face fiercely as their tongues did battle.

Dom's lips were surprisingly soft, but strong and skilled. Small whimpers were coming out of her mouth with every thrust of his tongue. The pulled back a little to breath, but it was if they were magnetized, they couldn't stay apart for long. Around ragged pants and gasps for air, they kissed cheeks, jaws, necks – whatever skin they could get to.

His arm was now gripping the back of her neck possessively, while the other moved slowly up her side until he was stroking the side of her breast. Letty moaned, wanting more. Part of her mind screamed that things were going way too fast, but it was quickly silenced as Dom all but lifted her over the armrest 'till she was straddling him, feeling his erection pressed close against her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his rested on her hips, holding her and squeezing just a little. She kissed him again, and as she nibbled on his lower lip, his groaned quietly and bucked his hips involuntarily. As their groins rubbed together, Letty felt delicious shocks shooting through her.

Wanting more, she began to grind against him, relishing her power as he groaned into her hair. The pleasure began to build slowly, until she was crashing over the edge and writhing as Dom held her close, smothering her screams with his mouth. It felt better than when she touched herself late a night, because this time he wasn't just a figment of her imagination, but really there. Really holding her.

"Shit," he murmured against her hair as she gently panted, trying to come back down to earth. She could feel him still hard against her, but didn't know what to do to make it better.

She pulled back, looking into his dark, flashing eyes. Before she could ask or offer to do anything, the music changed, signalling the end of the movie, and Letty barely had time to leap back into her seat before the lights came back on. She was still straightening herself out as people began to stand up and file out. One middle-aged woman gave them a dirty look as she passed them. Shw had a nagging suspicion that it was the same woman that had 'shushed' them before.

Letty's face began to flush in embarrassment, but Dom looped his arm around her neck and stared the woman down. Letty turned to him and smiled gratefully, her cheeks still burning.

"Thanks. Um," she paused, unsure of what to say to the man who'd just give her the best orgasm of her life. "Are you, uh, going to be okay?" She asked, biting her lower lip nervously.

Dom's eyes were fixed on her lips, a hungry look in his eyes before he flopped his head back with a groan and stare up at the ceiling.

"Just give me a minute," he muttered, before cursing under his breath.

After a minute or so, Dom stood, discreetly adjusting himself before offering Letty a hand up. She took it gratefully, but couldn't meet his eyes. Despite what they had just done, or perhaps _because_ of it, she felt just as awkward and nervous as before.

But as they were walking through the lobby, he slipped his arm over her shoulders again, pulling her against his side, as if that was where she belonged. After a tense second, she relaxed, melting against him, realising it _was _where she belonged.

* * *

"You what?" Rae asked shocked.

"I came, y'know, had an orgasm?" Letty replied quietly. They were in Toretto's kitchen, chatting while Leon and Han were instructing Jesse in the finer points of Playstation racing in the other room while Mia played referee.

Letty had figured she wouldn't what to be part of this particular girl-talk. Rae probably didn't want to either, but Letty needed _someone_ to talk to, and it appeared that Rae needed the education.

"Is that…is that what happens, when you, _y'know_?" Rae asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, yeah, or when someone touches you, or you touch yourself, or stuff." She cleared her throat. "Rae, how much do you know about sex?" She seemed to be taking over all the motherly duties when it came to her cousin. She had already taken her to get her hair trimmed, and had dragged her to get her first real bra and a few better fitting tops. Time for the birds and the bees.

"I know what sex is, Letty. I know the mechanics, and the biology, but I guess I never figured why people were so crazy about it. I mean, I get that they enjoyed it, but I never got _how_."

"You've never kissed a guy?" Letty asked.

"No." Rae looked thoughtful. "What does it feel like?"

"Which?"

Rae shrugged, "Both."

Letty took a deep breath. She hadn't been planning on giving her a blow-by-blow. "Well kisses, they can be soft or hard, either is nice. If the guy is good at it, it'll make parts of you tingle, it'll make your stomach clench, but it a good way. If you like a guy like that, you might even feel like that without touching him."

Rae was obviously intrigued. "What about the other thing?"

"You feel warmth, heat and pleasure building up inside you down there, then eventually it bursts through you and your body shakes and then you feel all relaxed. It's very good," Letty finished lamely. It sounded really stupid when she said it out loud.

"And Dom makes you feel like that?"

"Yeah," Letty sighed.

"Then what's wrong?" Rae asked confused.

"I don't know if he's just looking for a good time or if he really wants me as his girlfriend," she replied.

"What happened after?"

Letty shrugged. "He drove me home, we kissed some more and then asked me to go out with him again on Friday night."

"Well, that sounds like he wants to see you more, right?" Rae remarked optimistically.

"I guess."

"What's the problem, then?"

"I think I love him. I know it sounds stupid for me to say that so soon, but it's just how I feel," she defended, not used to being so open with someone.

Rae just looked down, silently thinking for a moment, then raised her head, her eyes serious. "My Dad always said he fell for my Mom the first time he saw her. You've known Dom for years, I don't know why that would be stupid."

Letty stared in shock at her cousin. Rae _never_ talked about her parents. She was obviously trying to help Letty, referring to the only steady, loving relationship she had ever observed.

"Maybe," she continued hesitantly, "maybe you just have to give him time. Guys are idiots, after all. Take things as they come, and if he breaks your heart," she shrugged. "I'll kick his ass."

Letty smiled, remembering the similar offer she had made about Vince on the first day Rae had arrived in L.A. Letty felt a little better. Rae's advice was much like Leon's. Take a chance. It may not work out, but at least you won't regret the missed opportunity.

"Thanks, cuz."

* * *

Rae's life was turned upside down. It was like some switch had got on in her mind and she was finally seeing boys as the opposite gender. It was curiosity mostly, she would discretely watch any men than she could, noticing things she had missed before.

Dom was all strength and power, but he drew his strength from those around him, needing his family and friends to survive. He watched Letty, and Rae began to suspect that her cousin had nothing to worry about.

Vince was big and gruff, and intimidating, and he had a kind of raw appeal that seemed to draw certain kinds of girls to him. Sluts, mostly.

Leon had a sort of laid back cool confidence, whereas Han was quiet and almost shy, but his eyes sparkled behind his long hair as if he knew the effect his mysterious air had on girls.

Even Jesse had a cute kind of charm, but Rae never felt the tingles that Letty talked about, not with any of them, or any of the guys that she met around the neighbourhood.

About a month back, Tony had closed up the garage for a fortnight, his mechanics turning into builders and decorators as they worked alongside the younger kids to prepare both the old garage and the new for business.

Rae now worked alongside Mia, helping out Jimmy's wife Tricia with the store after school and at the weekends. The left half of the garage had been turn into a corner-store type place, selling the basics, while the right had a counter and a kitchenette where grilled sandwiches and coffee could be prepared. One of the doors still opened up, letting the cool breeze flow through the place and allowing them to place some tables and chairs outside.

It wasn't the most glamorous place in the world, but it seemed Tony had found a niche market, and they were already doing good business. Tricia was nice, she was fairly laid-back, but still knew how to handle the occasional problem customer. The only thing that bothered Rae about her was that she called everyone 'Hun'. All the time. But as far as pet peeves go, it wasn't so bad, so Rae got used to it quickly.

The only thing Rae didn't like about working there was the heat. Even with the old AC humming away and the breeze coming in through the doors, it felt like she was in a tin can. She couldn't wear shorts and a tank like Mia because of her scars; she hated feeling like a freak. Instead, she spent her time drinking ice water and running to the bathroom every five minutes. It was getting ridiculous but she didn't know what to do.

The low hum of an engine drew her out of her thoughts as Dom pulled up next to the café, closely followed by Vince in his new car. The car itself wasn't new, but he had only bought it a week ago, and while the Team had managed to get it running, it didn't look or sound _half_ as good as Dom's wheels. He had been winning pretty good in some of the smaller races and was fast becoming the next big thing. Rae and Mia had never been to these races, but they had heard the tales from the other so much it was beginning to feel like they had.

Letty stepped out of Dom's car while Leon, Han and Jesse got out of Vince's, the six of them congregating around the now-open hood, trying to fix the latest problem.

After a moment, they began to drift one by one towards the smell of cooking food.

"How ya livin', girls?" Letty asked, grinning at them. She found it infinitely amusing that they were waiting tables.

Mia smiled back, while Rae just glared, grumpy from the heat. "Laugh it up, grease monkey."

"Hey, who you callin' greasy?" Jesse asked, jumping around like a monkey. The others laughed and soon he, Leon and Han were chasing each other round the store.

Tricia shook her head good-naturedly, turning to Mia and Rae. "You girls help me fix the monkey's food, then you can take a break, okay? Pass me the mayo, Hun."

Rae and Mia went to work, slicing bread, cutting meat, spreading mayo and peanut butter, already knowing what everyone wanted.

"What is with you, anyhow? You're sweating like a turkey at Thanksgiving," Vince said as Rae set his sandwich in front of him.

"Vincent Martelli, don't you be rude now, Hun," Tricia called from outside where she was clearing tables. Vince just glared at Rae, since Tricia couldn't see his face. Rae waited 'till Tricia was facing the other way before she stuck her tongue out at Vince, causing him to choke on his soda.

"Now children, let's behave, shall we," Han said, while holding Jesse in a headlock and mussing up his hair.

Rae just flipped him off and went to the bathroom again.

* * *

Rae couldn't sleep. She was thinking over a lot of things. Her brother had called, he had met this girl at school he really liked, her name was Vivian. He wanted Rae to meet her, but didn't know when he'd be able to travel down to see her. He hadn't said anything, but Rae though he might be in love with her.

She didn't know how she felt about her brother being in love. She wanted him to be happy, but she didn't want to share him with someone else, either. She just hoped that this Vivian was worthy of him.

Letty and Dom were getting serious. Everyone knew about them now, and although not everyone (including them) was certain of the exact nature of their relationship, Mia was the only one who was actually surprised to hear about it. They were definitely a couple, doing couple-y things, but they had yet to sleep together, Rae knew that much.

Sighing, Rae went downstairs to watch some brainless TV. After an hour of Law & Order re-runs, she put away her potato chips and went back up to bed, thinking about the conversation she and Letty had had earlier that day.

_Rae had cornered her cousin, looking for answers. "I don't have tingles."_

_Letty had blinked, "Okaaay."_

"_I look at guys and some of them are cute, but I don't have tingles."_

_Letty had frowned. "Well, maybe you haven't met the right guy, then."_

_Rae had shaken her head. "When did you first get the tingles?"_

_Letty's eyes had glazed over. "The first time I saw Dom without a shirt on. All those muscles…"_

She still didn't get it. She'd seen guys without their shirts on before and nothing. She still thought she was doing something wrong.

Deciding to stop and brush her teeth before sleeping, she pushed open the bathroom door without thinking.

Her mouth gaped open.

_There _were the tingles!

Vince was in the shower, clearly visible through the clear glass doors. His shoulders were wide, strong and well muscled. She followed his hands as he soaped himself over his lightly haired chest, down over his firm abdomen, his body tapering to strong hips. His hands stopped there, and her eyes were drawn towards his penis, which he was beginning to stroke to hardness with a soap-covered hand.

It was thick, and long and growing bigger by the second. Her fascinated eyes flicked over his body, from the water dripping over his muscled chest to the franticly moving hand at his cock.

Warmth was spreading in her stomach, and it was like she had butterflies fluttering around her. Her mouth was dry, her face was flushed and her breasts were sore. And she couldn't stop looking.

She snapped out of her daze only when he let out a groan. At first she panicked, thinking he had seen her, but when her eyes darted back to his face she saw his were still closed, his face tilted up to the ceiling, his jaw tense.

Realising the position she was in, she dragged herself away, closing the door as silently as possible behind her before running back to bed.

It would seem that Letty was right, once again. Too bad she got tingles for the only guy she _knew _would never be interested in her.


	11. Miami Pt02

_**A/N: Thanks to **2furious4u, Martell2981, Vinces-girl, Sparkles2004 **(thanks!) and **Lovecraft22 **for their reviews.**_

**_Well, I got a nice long chapter for you here, mostly Miami, but some other stuff thrown in too. To be honest, I'm just glad to get it out the way so that I can get everyone back in L.A. and get the real story going. I think I'll be posting a poll soon as to whether Letty and Dom should stay together or not, I'll let you know on that._**

_**Happy birthday to Vin Diesel!**_

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

They had talked to Tej, and he had hooked them up with a pretty sweet set up. The Camero and the Challenger were finished and modified with NOS, along with some other _interesting _tricks. The storage facility was ready, and everyone had been willing to help out, either for Brian and Rome, or out of respect for Tej.

Brian didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from Markham or Bilkins, even if he wasn't sure he could trust them. But the fact was, he just _knew_ something was going to go wrong, and there were a hell of a lot of things that could.

The crooked cop might not keep to his deal with Verone. Verone might change the deal. Markham might charge in too soon and blow their cover, or too late and find them with air-conditioned skulls. 'Course, on the other hand, everything could go fine and the plan would go off without a hitch.

But still, Brian and Rome wanted to be careful. They figured they'd pick up the money, ditch the cars, then the goons, and meet up with Customs after they had busted Verone. That way, they'd be far from the bullets when things went down, and maybe a little cash would go missing, just in case the feds didn't hold up their end of the bargain.

It had taken some convincing, but Rome had finally agreed that getting out free and clear was more important than making a profit. Brian didn't want to get Rome killed. He had gotten his old friend involved in this because he wanted to make amends for what happened before. It hadn't been his fault that Rome had been arrested, but he always felt that if he had been around more instead of hanging out with his rookie buddies, this might have come out different.

Rome had finally forgiven him, and acknowledged that the boosted cars were his fault alone. Despite the mounting pressure on the case, Brian was beginning to feel calmer than he had in years. He always projected the cool, calm persona, but inside his mind was whirling. But now he felt like a kid again, drivin' around all crazy with Rome, laughing, bickering and joking. He wanted Rome to come back to L.A. with him, knowing he'd fit in well with the rest of the crew. But more than anything, he wanted them both out alive.

* * *

Leon watched as Letty and Dom avoided each other. It was almost like a dance. They acted normal, well, not _normal_, but civil, but hey avoided eye contact, avoided touching, while still watching each other when the other wasn't looking.

Obviously, something had happened while he was out the other night. Dom had been quieter than usual, not drinking as much, just thinking. Letty got this sad look in his face when she thought no one was looking. It would seem she had finally spoken her mind, and Dom didn't like it.

Le felt guilt about how he'd treated Letty. Once upon a time, she was like his sister. He laughed with her, looked out for her and had her back. But when Han had left, he'd lost his best friend, and had thrown himself closer to the other guys, looking for that male camaraderie that he missed. He'd got so caught up in it, that he hadn't even blinked an eye when Dom had started sleeping around. Time was, he would have beaten the crap outta Dom for treatin' Letty like that, or at least tried, but he had just figured that if she didn't seem to care, it didn't matter.

They had gotten into this mess and he'd been okay with it. But when they had been on that road and he had watched Letty's car flip, he was so worried. He remembered the days when they and Han would spend hours just talkin', jokin' messin' around. How even with her own shit to deal with, she'd always be there when they needed to vent about their problems.

Since Dom got locked up, none of them had done their jobs as friends. Rae had cut out on them, but none of them had even noticed that she was unhappy. Han had gotten in deep trouble with the Trans, but they hadn't found out 'till to late. Dom was cheatin', Letty was falling apart and the rest of them, well they were all to busy getting' drunk and havin' fun that they hadn't even noticed that they were self-destructing.

Used to be, there'd always be someone who notice you were in trouble, always someone to talk with. They looked out for each other. Now they were so absorbed in their own dramas that they didn't notice the world changin' around them.

Maybe Han and Rae were right to leave. Maybe they had sensed the ship sinking and had decided to jump before they hit rock bottom. The Team, the Team was a _joke_. They weren't a team, the were Dominic Toretto's entourage, something to feed his ego. He didn't need friends anymore, just groupies. And they were all too happy to comply, just happy to have him back in their lives.

Leon didn't know if he even wanted to stay around anymore. Maybe after all this was cleared up, and Jesse was back on his feet, he'd go catch up with Han in Tokyo, he'd heard it was pretty sweet there. He hadn't heard anything from his friend since he'd left, but he knew than Han wouldn't be able to stay away from the racing scene for long, and now that Tran was dead, he was free and clear to come back stateside.

But first there was one thing he had to do first.

He waited 'till Dom went out to pick up some groceries from the market, since Letty refused to leave the apartment. He found her in the living room, flickin' through the channels, trying to find something that _wasn't _a Mexican soap opera.

"Hey, Le," she said quietly, her eyes still fixed on the screen.

"Letty, I gotta say somethin'."

She frowned, and flick off the TV. "What is it, bro?"

"I'm sorry. I let Dom treat you like shit and I shouldn't have. I haven't been a very good friend, and I'm sorry," he shrugged, never one for long speeches.

The next thing he knew, she was barrelling into him, he arms wrapping 'round his waist. "Thanks, Le," she mumbled against his chest.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and said, "It'll be alright, girl. We'll figure it out."

He hoped to god he was right.

* * *

They had already picked up Verone's money from some shitty trailer park, but now the cops were after them. Verone's cop had grown some balls and actually done his job for once. Too bad it was at the one time they needed him to be dirty. If they got picked up by the Miami police, they were done for.

Enrique was riding with Brian in the Evo while Rome was stuck with Roberto in the Spyder. Rome had watched as Brian had hung out of his car trying to pull out some kind of crazy-assed harpoon outta the side. Now they were side by side, headed toward Tej's set-up at the storage place.

Good thing they had set it up, they were going to need it. Rome still wished the plan was taking the cash and runnin', but he knew that Brian wouldn't leave his people in L.A., and Rome wasn't gonna cut out and leave his best friend waist high in feds. He _was _curious 'bout these new folks he was ridin' with, but now wasn't the time.

He could almost _feel_ the smugness of the cops as they thought they had the two cars cornered, and he wished he could see their faces when they realised how wrong they were.

Rome followed close behind Brian as they slid into the only two open doors of the large building, hearing them close quickly behind them. As Rome and Brian quickly jumped out of their cars, Enrique and Roberto looking around the car and people filled building in confused awe.

"What's going on?" Roberto asked Rome suspiciously as he opened the trunk.

"We switchin' wheels, man. Loosing the cops. Grab that bag, would ya?" Rome replied, lifting two of the bags and moving them to the Challenger, seeing Brian doing the same with the Camero.

"You ready bro?" Brian asked Tej as he walked up with Suki close behind.

"Always, man. Always." Suki just rolled her eyes, stepping gracefully into the Spyder. Other people were getting quickly in their rides and starting their engines. Yells and cries went out as the excitement built.

"What are you going to do?" Enrique asked Brian as they got in the Camero.

"You'll see, man. You'll see."

Tej yelled out the window. "Alright people, let's do this!"

At his words, the guys standing by the doors opened them all, shining trucks shooting out and ramming the police cars waiting outside. After there were a few clear paths, the rest of the cars followed.

The parking lot was a kaleidoscope of cars, all different makes, and different colors, all driving circles round the cops and scarin' the shit outta them. After a few minutes of random driving that reminded Rome of the demolition derby back in Barstow, Brian's voice crackled across the radio, "Y'all lets break!"

At that, everyone began to exit the lot, perfectly synchronized as even more cars came flooding out including their four cars. They joined the massive flood of cars, and just like they'd hoped, the cops followed Tej and Suki instead of them.

They soon left them behind completely and were sail towards the landing strip. Rome, as usual kept talkin' his mouth off 'till they were clear of traffic. Making sure he was far behind Brian, he turned to Roberto.

"Enjoyin' the ride?" he asked, grinning. Roberto just raised and eyebrow. "Man, it's a fast car, huh?" Nothing. "Man, it's a classic. Old School. American Muscle." He laughed at the thought of what he was going to do to this jackass. "Man, this car can do all kinda thing, man. Wanna see?" He laughed again. "Check this out right here, homey," he said reaching and unbuckling dude's belt.

"Hey, what the hell?! What are you doin' man?"

Rome reached over and smashed Roberto's head against the dash a few times 'till he was too dazed to move. Then he laughed, pressing the button to the NOS powered seat. Roberto screamed as he was shot out of the fast moving car into the water.

"Ejecto seato, cuz! It worked! I love this button!" _Shit that was fun!_"Stay on your toes punto!" he called back, even though he was to far for the dude to hear him.

He picked up the radio, "Mr. O'Connor, it worked baby, blow and go, I'm all clear! Meet me at the point, hurry up man, its on, baby!" he said, careful not to say anything that would directly alert the other goon.

"Alight, ten-four man," Brian's voice came back at him.

He made his way to their meet point, knowing that Markham, in all his tight-ass glory, would be stormin' Verone's plane as soon as he heard the were off the radar. He and Bri would hand off some of the cash to Jimmy, then met back up with the feds, who would be none the wiser to a little missing green.

He got there, but there was no sign of the Camero. "Brian, Brian man. What's the hold up bro?"

"Yo, Rome. There's a new plan," Brian's voice came back tightly.

"What the hell?!"

"We're meetin' him at the Tarpin Point exit, not the airstrip."

"So what are you sayin'?" he asked, tryin' to figure out what Brian was tryin' to tell him.

"Like I said, there's a new plan."

"Brian." No answer. "Brian, hello? You there?" Rome felt cold dread slide down his spine in sharp contrast with the hot Florida sun. "Damn!"

"Yo, what the hell is he doin'?" Jimmy asked, agitated.

"The feds are in the wrong place," he snapped, storming past the shorter man. "Fuentes is on her own with Verone."

"So…?"

"So Brian's not comin'!"

He jumped back in his car and sped to Tarpin point, alternately prayin' than he wasn't too late, and cursin' Brian being so damn _good_.

As he got near, he started gettin' Enrique's voice over the radio. "What's that? What's that?"

"That's Barstow baby!" he yelled back, "it's about to get ugly!" He rammed into the black Navigator parked behind Brian's car, hoping it would be enough of a distraction.

His heart nearly stopped when he hear gunshots coming from the Camero, but he saw to figures still struggling so he figured no one was hurt _too _bad. He pulled himself out of the window of the wrecked Challenger, and knocked out the driver of the Navigator, then went to help Bri.

When he opened the door and pulled out Enrique, Brian let out an, "Oh shit!" and came tumbling after. He knocked him down, so did Brian, but the dude just kept getting' up. Brian was getting' a little crazy, but most folks do when someone's just tried to kill 'em.

After dude finally went down, they ran of toward the pier, only to see Verone's big-ass yacht cruising off, him and Fuentes up top. They ran back to the Camero, gettin' rid of the bullet hole-ridden windscreen and takin' off after them.

"I thought you was dead, man," he said, watchin' the wind mess up Brian's hair. He was right about the mousse.

"Yeah, me too, thanks for savin' my ass, bro," Brian said frantically.

Rome looked ahead at the road, not sure what his friend was trying to do. "What are you doin', Brian?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "but if Verone sees a helicopter or customs boats, she's dead."

The light dawned. "Boat. Car. Boat. You're not goin' to do what I think you're goin' to do?"

"Yeah, I think so. You got my back, bro?"

"Yeah." _No question._

"Alright, man. Put on your seatbelt." Bri said, reaching for his own.

"Show 'em some real Dukes of Hazard shit, bro!"

"We're gonna do this big! Hold on, Rome! Hold on!" Brian yelled as he pushed even harder on the gas, speeding toward the boat.

The reality of what they were going to do finally hit Rome. "Ohhhh! Brian, you crazy, man! What the hell you doin'?!"

They both screamed as the car went shooting into the air. Rome could almost _hear_ the horn in his head. There was a moment where it felt like the car was flyin', then they landed hard, square on Verone's boat.

Rome felt pain shoot up his arm, and Brian was clutching his head where it had hit the steering wheel. _That was the stupidest thing I've done in my life!_

"I think I broke my arm, man," he said through teeth gritted against the pain. They both saw Verone edging towards them with a shotgun. "Get the gun," Rome said, pushing it towards Brian with his good arm.

The next thing they knew, Fuentes was there, holding the shotgun on Verone. "It's over, Carter."

"You okay?" Brian asked, still holding the gun on Verone.

"Yeah," she yelled back, "I'm great."

They both collapsed back against their seats.

"We got him, man. We got him," Rome said quietly. "Let's get outta here."

* * *

Vince didn't mention their kiss when he saw Rae the next morning. He pretended like he was too drunk to remember anything. He'd done that a few times before, usually tryin' to get outta trouble. But he hadn't been too drunk to see the look in her eyes, or feel when she kissed him back.

He didn't know why he'd done it in the first place. She'd just been standing there, trying to get him into bed, and he had looked into those big, warm eyes and suddenly everything had come flooding back, 'cept he was too drunk to feel any of the usual guilt about the way he had treated her.

So was so different that she used to be, except that she wasn't. She was tougher, more mature, obviously a lot less innocent than before, but she still had that quiet presence and the uncanny ability to come at you from a different angle than anyone expected. Unpredictable, that was it. Not in a wild and crazy way, but just enough to remind you that there was more to her than met the eye.

That was one of the things that had always made Vince nervous about her. He liked nice, solid, dependable people. People you could rely on to react a certain way. Not her. You never knew what you were going to get. One day, a laugh, then next, you could be on your ass in the dirt.

But _damn_ if she didn't taste just as sweet! He knew he shouldn't think this like that. Now, well yeah. She was grown up, older than Mia, even. But she was still just that kid that used to bug him. Thinking about her like that was wrong.

But he still did. He watched her as she moved around the kitchen. Bending down to pick up something the kid had dropped. Placing it in front of her and pecking her head. Humming 'Butterflies and Hurricanes' under her breath as she sliced cheese for sandwiches.

She was beautiful. A little taller than when she'd left, maybe 5'7", and a little curvier. She dressed differently too. More confidently. Her scars had always bothered her, but now she bared her arms with pride, showing of the intricate designs covering her forearms. She didn't mind showing skin, and although she wasn't dressing to impress, she was obviously aware of her good looks. She was still fairly minimal, choosing, like Letty, to wear very little make-up. Vince preferred that to chicks who looked like their faces were melted wax.

"You like pony?" a small voice asked, and Vince turned his head only to come face to face with a bright pink horse with huge blue eyes, oversized lashes and ridiculously long hair. It was the drag queen of ponies.

He looked from the horse to the little girl holding it and found himself looking into the same brown eyes. "It's…_colourful_," he replied diplomatically. Rae snorted from where she was standing with her back turned.

"An' Vivie gived me it when I visiteded her. It called Binky."

"Really?" Vince said, amused despite himself.

"Yup. She make 'ainbows, an' sunshine, an' puppies, an' kitties, an' she eat people who mean," she said unblinkingly. _Yep, this is definitely Rae's kid._

"Binky, huh?" he said quietly. She nodded, her wavy pigtails bouncing. "Suits her," he said sitting back as Rae placed the food in front of him.

"Mia! Food's ready!" Rae yelled up the stairs.

"She already left," Vince told her. "She had to open up early for deliveries."

"Oh. Well. Enjoy." She sat down opposite him, not meeting his eyes. "Eat your sandwich, sweetie," she said to Ella, taking the toy and placing it out of the little girl's reach.

They sat it silence for a while.

"You work as an inker, now?" he asked, trying to figure out this new Rae.

"Yeah. I spent so much time hanging around the parlour here, that when I moved to Chicago, I needed some cash, so I figured I could sell some designs to a local parlour. The guy that ran it, Kevin, he offered me a job on the spot, didn't care that I was three months pregnant by then. He showed me the ropes and gave me a job. A couple months ago he gave me the parlour to run while he opened another place across town. I still work their, but I'm covered for now."

Vince nodded. "Sounds good. I figured you might need to get back or somethin'"

She tilted her head, a smile tugging at her full lips. "You tryin' to get rid of me, Martelli?"

He shook his head, snorting a laugh. "Nah, just wonderin'. I mean, you got the kid and sh… stuff."

She smiled her thanks. "I've got some cash saved up. I'm plannin' on staying 'till Jesse's better," she said with total confidence that that would be the case. "If I need some extra cash, I can always work as a guest artist here in town. I've got a few people I could call."

"Berto would probably _love_ to have you work for him," he said referring to the guy that ran the shop he usually went to. "He missed you somethin' crazy when you left. Said it was way too quiet."

She just smiled sadly and looked at her plate. She took a deep breath. "I appreciate you keeping quiet about why I left. I know it was more than I deserved."

"You weren't the only one that screwed up."

Her head lifted sharply, her eyes searching his, and he knew he'd said the wrong thing. She nodded sharply, then stood and cleared the dishes, their little window of pleasant conversation gone.

"I, uh. I have an appointment at the hospital," he said as he helped her clear the table.

She nodded again. "Give me a minute and I'll drive you."

"Thanks."

She didn't replied, just turned her back and finished cleaning. He went slowly down the stairs to his room, gathering up the few papers he'd need. His eyes drifted to the small, battered wooden box he kept on his dresser. If she even found out what he had in there, she'd probably kill him. He'd had it since the day she left.

He shook his head, clearing his mind, and made his way slowly back up the stairs. He found Rae waiting, Ella held propped against her hip. "You ready?" she asked, twirling the keys to her rental.

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

* * *

Brian watched as the EMT patched up Rome's dislocated elbow. The feds had shown up in record time, bringing the rest of the circus with them. Markham had barged in, but after he'd spoken to Agent Fuentes, he'd calmed down and walked over to where they were perched.

"So, there were three bags total, huh? The three from the boat?" he asked them quietly. Brian, of course, knew there were three more, but he wasn't going to rat out Rome.

"So we good, right?" he friend asked warily. "Our records clean?"

Markham nodded. "You held up your end, your records are clean."

"And the Team?" Brian asked.

"All charges dropped, Bilkins is calling the D.A. right now."

Brian gave Rome a look. _He kept up his end, now it's our turn._ Rome got up slowly and walked to the Challenger, coming back a few seconds later and setting down the three other bags with a _thump_.

"So maybe there was six bags; I guess we can call it even," Rome said to Markham.

Markham, still looking at Rome, called out, "Agent Dunn."

"Sir."

He shook their hands smiling. Apparently, without the tension of the case, he was an okay guy. "Found some more evidence."

Dunn with his usual slightly confused expression took the bags to the evidence truck. The looked over and saw Verone being patched up by the EMTs.

"Don't drop the soap, big homey!" Rome gloated.

Verone just gave them a dark smile.

"I hope you know that when he gets out, he gonna kill your ass," Brian said, still smiling, but knowing that like Johnny Tran, Verone would never stay down 'till he was stone cold dead.

"He ain't gettin' out," Rome replied, still grinning.

"I'll see you soon," Verone called back as the police began to lead him off.

"You think he gon' get out?" Rome asked, worry creeping into his tone.

"He'll be out," Brian replied, leaving the worry for another day as he walked over to where Bilkins and Fuentes were waiting.

"Nah, for real, you think he gettin' out, though?" Rome asked disbelievingly.

"We took care of your decoys, they're free and clear," Bilkins informed them. Bri was glad to here that Tej and Suki were okay; they had really stuck their necks out for him. "There's a sedan out on the road for you," Bilkins continued, "try to bring in back in one piece."

Rome laughed beside him as he replied, "Thanks a lot, Bilkins. You're all right."

"Thanks."

"Thanks for lookin' out man." Things had changed a lot in the few weeks he had been in Miami. Bilkins, who had once been the one gunnin' hardest for Dom and the Team, was now someone Brian would trust with his life.

"So you trust me now?" Monica asked Rome.

"You aight," Rome replied, smiling big. She smiled back then shook his bad arm, and Brian wasn't entirely sure it was an accident. He couldn't blame her for wanting to get a little payback after Rome had been so hostile.

"Nice working with you, O'Connor," she said, smiling at him, a little regret in her eyes.

"Same here."

"Yo, where now bro?" Rome asked after they had walked a little.

"I'm headin' west, back to L.A." Brian replied. They were quiet for a moment. "You comin'?"

"What about the folks you got there? What they like?"

"Well, Dom's cool, sorta in charge, and Vince is his second. V. and I, well, we ain't been so good in the past, but we were workin' things out. Leon's totally laid back, and Jesse's great. He's in hospital though, got shot up pretty bad. Then there's Letty, Dom's girl, she kinda scary, but a great mechanic. Her cousins Rae and Alex are there too, but they came after the heists, I don't know them so well, and I don't know how long they'll be 'round. Then there's Dom's sister Mia."

"Aha! I _knew_ there was a girl in there somewhere! It's always about a girl with you, man," Rome said gleefully.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is _not_!"

"Aww, come on cuz, is too."

"Whatever. I think you better stay here. I don't think I want you in L.A. after all," Brian joked.

"Too bad boy, you ain't getting' rid of me that easy. Nuh-uh. I gotta watch you, keep you outta trouble." Rome replied, slapping his back.

"Whatever."


	12. Ink

_**A/N: Thanks to **Lovercraft22, 2furious4u, Sparkles2004 **and **Vinces-girl **for their reviews!**_

**_First off, I'm so sorry how long this took, I've been in a serious writing funk since I came back, and I've been working on this chapter for A-G-E-S! It doesn't help that a couple days ago I stood on the power plug of my hairdryer, tearing a couple holes in my foot. Yes, I'm a klutz. But seriously, have you seen British plugs? Not little thin prongs like in the US, but big, blunt fuckers!_**

**_Ahem. I know I promised that you would find out why Rae left soon, and you will...just not this chapter. Sorry, but I didn't want to rush things, and skip over important parts. Next past-chapter, I promise. Good news though! Some more Dom/Letty action for all you fans out there, real sex too. Not the best sex scene I've ever written, but at least I avioded making and jokes about it being 'fast and furious', huh?_**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

_Damn! Look away, look away!_

That was close. Vince had already caught her staring at him once. If he caught her again, she was busted. She had to stop.

Except she couldn't. Every waking second since she'd seen him in the shower had been filled with him, and her sleep wasn't much different. She was obsessed, she knew it. She couldn't help it. He was big, and loud, and rude, and sweaty, and gruff and she was obsessed.

She watched him, how he moved with masculine confidence, how he barked a laugh when he was amused, how his brow furrowed in concentration when he was working. He was intense about everything he did. Anger, laughter, passion (with other girls), they were all dealt with the same intense focus. The only time it was ever focus at her, it was always intense _annoyance_.

She knew there would never be anything between them, for so many reasons. He was three years older than her, he didn't even like her, and he would have absolutely no reason to want her, with her skinny, scarred body, and hair in desperate need of a cut. She had no appeal, no experience, nothing. Plus, she may have a _huge_ crush on him, but she wasn't sure if she actually _liked_ him.

A week or so had passed since her little peepasode with Vince. She hadn't told anyone, no Mia and not Letty. She couldn't. They'd laugh, tell her she was crazy, and eventually Vince would find out, then _he'd_ laugh, and that would be more than she could take.

She tried to push him from her mind, but it was impossible, so here she was, pretending to read the fashion magazines Mia and Letty had been throwing at her, and instead peering over the top and watching him work.

She tried desperately not to blush and focused on the page in front of her 'Get this seasons look for under 100'. Apparently this year's look was too much hairspray, too much eyeliner and not enough clothes.

Letty had decided that it was time for Rae to get new clothes, and a new haircut, and Mia had jumped on the chance to play doll. So Rae had been tasked to dig through the magazines and find a look she was comfortable with. She'd pointed out that she was comfortable with the look she _had,_ although Letty was right about getting her a bra. Much more comfortable. 'Late Bloomer' the saleslady had called her. Said she would be a real looker when she was finished. Rae thought maybe the woman needed to cut down on the perfume. The fumes seemed to be getting to her.

She'd been putting them off as long as she could, but Letty had finally snapped and gone to Tony, telling him Rae needed a haircut. Traitor. He seemed to have forgotten, he hadn't mentioned it in a few days, and Letty was distracted with Dom.

After flicking through, trying to find something that caught her eye, she glance up at the clock, doing a double take when she realised the time. She was supposed to be working at the café in a couple minutes; she was going to be late. Again.

She jumped up, but before she could get far, Tony came out of his office.

"Hold up a minute girl, I need to talk to you." She frowned, but waited as he turned to Vince. "Ain't you s'posed to be leavin' now, boy?"

Vince's head snapped up to the clock. "_Shit,_" he muttered, quickly clearing up, but stopping at Tony's next words.

"Take Rae with ya, would ya? She needs her hair cut, and there's a place right next to the parlour."

"What?! I mean…" Vince was thrown, making Tony laugh.

"She can handle it, can't you?" he asked with a firm look. She nodded, eyes wide. "She just needs a ride. And make sure she comes back with shorter hair."

Vince didn't look happy, but he nodded, willing to do as Tony asked.

"Come on."

* * *

Soon, they were in his car, speeding towards the dreaded hair cut.

"Where're we going?" she asked, looking curiously out the window.

"Tattoo parlour 'cross town," was his gruff reply.

Not put off, she pushed on. "Are you getting another tattoo?" He already had some kind of bird-logo-crest-thing on his left arm.

"Nah, I just like their coffee," he replied sarcastically, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"What are you getting?" she asked, intrigued.

"I was thinking an African blend, no milk or sugar," he continued, looking straight ahead.

She huffed, crossing her arms and staring out the window.

He let out a gusty sigh. "A dragon. Japanese-style. On my other arm."

"Cool." She had not idea what Japanese-style was, but she liked dragons.

"Whatever," he huffed. "Look. When we get there, you go straight to the salon. You get your hair done like Tony said. You come back and wait; I'll probably be a while. You sit, read magazines. Don't touch anything. Don't bug anyone. Just sit and shut up. Got it?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Bossman!" she mockingly saluted, a little pissed at how he was treating her. It's not like she _always_ got in the way.

"Whatever," he repeated driving them into a small strip mall. "There's that salon," he said, pointing at a small, faded shop front with pictures of outdated hairstyles in the window. The parlour is two doors down. Don't go anywhere else. As much as I'd love it if you just disappeared, Tony would kill me."

Rae wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

* * *

Vince was flicking through the latest edition of Skin & Ink, waiting for Berto to finish so they could get started. The parlour was open-plan, with a room at the back for more _intimate _piercings and tattoos. Flash art and photos were scattered around with tattoo-style art pieces.

Vince glanced up to see how much Berto had left to do on the portrait he was doing; it wouldn't be long. Just as he was turning back to the magazine, the bell above the door jangled, and he looked up in idle curiosity.

"What the hell are you doing back here?!" he hissed trying not to disturb the people working. "You're hair ain't cut yet! Get your ass back in there!"

"Shut up man," she said flopping down. "We're s'posed to be _quiet_, remember," she said snidely, pissing him off even more. "I've got an appointment in twenty minutes, and the only seat left was next to this old lady who kept trying to pinch my cheeks. Hey, this place is cool!" she exclaimed, looking around wide-eyed.

Before he could reply, the buzzing of Berto's machine switched off, and he was quickly finishing with his current client.

"Vince, good to see you again! I'll be with you in just minute," Berto said, smiling. He was a big guy, bigger than Vince, with a shaved head and a long goatee, tattoos covering him from his neck to his hands. He was the owner of the Pin-up Parlour, and his specialty was, obviously, pin-ups, but he was talented in other styles too, otherwise Vince wouldn't come to him.

They sat down to wait, and Vince caught Rae staring at the only other artist currently working. She was about thirty-five, tattoos completely covering her arms and hands, completely rocker chick. A thought struck him.

"You get a pair of those," he said, referring to the arm-warmers the woman was wearing. "Y'know, to cover your arms."

She looked at him a moment, and he worried she'd taken offense. He tried on a regular basis to piss her off, but he _never_ bought up anything to do with her parents. He was honestly trying to be nice. He had no clue why. After a moment, she nodded.

"That's a good idea, Vince."

He shrugged. "Don't sound to surprised. I'm not an idiot, y'know." She surprised him completely by giving him one of her rare, full-voltage smiles. He'd seen them before, usually directed towards Mia or Jesse, but it was the first time he had been on the receiving end. It was kind of freaking him out, being almost _friendly_ with Rae.

Before he could freak out too much, Berto came over, ready to get started. "Who's your friend?" he asked, giving Rae a smile.

"Rae, she lives with the Toretto's too. I got stuck babysitting."

Berto gave him a strange look, as though he was crazy, but turned back to Rae. Vince felt her move closer to him and felt her grip the back of his vest. He looked down to see her staring at Berto, her eyes wide. Before he could ask her what was wrong, Berto took a step back and smiled at her reassuringly.

"Do you want to watch me work? I don't mind."

Vince looked down at Rae, bewildered, watching as she struggled against her curiosity. She moved with him as he walked over to the chair, her hand still holding his clothes. Berto was still talking.

"I'm gonna transfer the design to his arm, like a fake tattoo, y'know? Then I'll use this machine," he said, tapping the gun with his finger, "to draw the outline on Vince's arm. That'll be all today, but the next time he comes in I'll do shading, then after that, the color."

Vince had no clue what he was doing, but Rae was slowly moving forward, peering at the transfer Berto had in his hand.

"Wow," she whispered, "that's beautiful!"

"Thanks," Berto said, grinning. Rae gave him a shy smile. He pulled up one of the spare stools. "Here, you can sit here, get a good view."

She sat down obediently; watching in fascination as Berto applied the design, then jumped a little as he started the machine. She leaned close as he felt the needle bite into his skin. He breathed through the pain, watching her face as she stared in wonder, he had no fucking clue what was going on with her today.

After a few minutes he turned to her. "Ain't you s'posed to be getting your hair done?"

She shot a pained look at the clock, looking almost panicked. "Don't worry," Berto said, stopping for a moment, "We'll still be at it when you get back."

She gave him a grateful smile before rushing out. As he turned back to Vince's arm, he remarked, "She's a skittish one, ain't she? I wonder what all that's about."

* * *

Rae swiped self-consciously at the hair that kept falling in her face, not sure about her look. She had just wanted it shorter, so it didn't take hours to wash and comb through, but the hairdresser had insisted that she needed some shape around the face, so now she had some annoyingly short bits that kept falling out of her ponytail.

Vince was going to laugh, she just _knew_it. She made her way back into Berto's shop, once again hit by the variety of shapes and colors that graced the walls. True to his word, Berto was still hard at work on Vince's arm, the tattoo gun still buzzing away.

She had been painfully frightened of Berto the first time she had seen him. He was bigger even that _Tony_, and was fairly intimidating with the biker look and the many tattoos, but he'd turned out to be a nice guy. She knew inside that Tony, hell even _Vince _would never let her near a guy they though would hurt her. But when she encountered someone like him, someone that any normal person would find a little intimidating, she freaked out.

Before moving back to watch them, she took a moment to look closer at the photos on the walls. Intricate Japanese designs were next to grinning Mexican skulls; scantily clad pin-ups (which made Rae blush) were posed next to amazingly life-like portraits. Bright colors contrasted with beautiful greyscale. She was mesmerised.

"Ah, Rapunzel is back!" Berto said, raising his head momentarily to grin at her before bending back to work on Vince's arm.

"Is it shorter?" Vince asked, craning his neck to see.

"Yes," she sighed, and sat down next to Berto.

"What's this?" Vince asked, grabbing at a chuck of hair that kept falling in her face.

"Hold still!" Berto muttered as Rae jerked out of Vince's hold.

"Shorter hair, as ordered," she replied caustically. "What, you think it should be shorter? Maybe I should just get it shaved off, then at least I'd blend in with Tony and Dom."

Berto snorted, half at what she said, and half at Vince's face as he obviously tried to avoid the mental picture.

"Fine," Vince grumbled settling back into the chair, his arm seriously throbbing.

"Fine," Rae mimicked, folding her arms over her chest with a similar surly look.

Neither of them noticed the small smile playing on Berto's face.

* * *

"Letty, slow down!"

"What?" she mumbled, not hearing.

"Slow down!" he repeated, his voice desperate.

They had been dating for _months_ and while she appreciated Dom's chivalry in not pushing her, she wanted to have sex with him _now. _She'd even brought condoms.

"I don't want to," she replied clearly, still trying to get his shirt off over his head.

"Baby, we've got a couple hours yet, we don't need to go this fast," he soothed between kisses, his hands on her hips as she straddled him, bending low to avoid hitting her head on the roof of his car.

"Maybe I don't want to do what we always do," she said softly, pulling back to look in his eyes.

They had danced around the issue, Dom giving up his normal player ways to stay with her, much to the jealousy and disappointment of the local female population. She tried to keep him happy by using her hands and her mouth to get him off, and he was more than happy to repay the favour, but neither of them was expecting _her_ to be the first one to break.

But there was no mistaking her intention. "Letty, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? We've been going out for three months. On our first date, I dry-humped you at the cinema. If you were anyone else, you'd have been pushing for it months ago. Hell, you ain't exactly Mr. Chastity. Why is this so different?"

"You're sixteen, for one thing," he replied, grinning at her description of him.

"And what, you want to wait a year and a half? Fuck that! I'm finding me a guy who wants it now!" she joked, pretending to leave.

He pulled her back before she could reach the handle of the back door. "You're a virgin," he added quietly, wrapping his arms around her.

"Yeah, and I want you to be my first," she countered, willing him to see that it wasn't some spur-of-the-moment decision.

He groaned at the look in her eyes and pulled her close, placing a passion-filled kiss on her lips. He pulled a breath and pulled out in last card. "Your first time shouldn't be in the back of a car."

Who was he kidding? This was Letty. It probably turned her on.

* * *

She gasped as she lowered herself onto him, feeling her hymen break with sharp pain before it was replaced by an overwhelming burning feeling. He held her steady, his ragged breathing matching her own as they both got used to the feel of each other.

"So _tight_," Dom rumbled, send shocks through her.

"That's good, right?" Letty asked, her hands gripping his bare shoulders as the burning gradually faded, leaving her feeling deliciously full.

He could only groan his reply as she slowly lifted herself up, watching his face closely before dropping back down, her eyes fluttering shut at the feel of him moving inside.

She began to move above him, her hips rolling against him, his hands guiding her before he lost control and gripped her waist as he thrust up into her, harder, faster. Soon, she was gasping in his ear, feeling the now-familiar pleasure building in her, only a thousand times better now that he was actually _inside_ her.

"Dom…" she cried, the world shattering around her. He pulled her close and groaned loudly, his climax brought on by the feel of her body clenching rhythmically around him.

They sat like that, catching their breath, scattering distracted kisses on whatever bare skin they could reach. He wrapped his big arms around her, making her feel so loved, even if they'd never said the words.

"You okay, baby?"

"Mmmm," she mumbled, feeling his body rumble with laughter a second later.

For once, Letty didn't resent his vast experience with women, grateful for having such a thoroughly enjoyable first time. She sighed, knowing that soon she'd have to get back to her bitter Abulea, happy to enjoy her stolen hours with her forbidden boyfriend.

* * *

Rae became a regular at the parlour, bugging Vince into taking her back for the rest of his work. He still complained constantly, but somehow found himself taking her with him every time. Berto certainly didn't mind, he proclaimed that her visits were the highlight of his day.

It felt weird at first, having her stare at him so intently, but he soon got used to it, and by the end, he didn't mind at all, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone. He noticed that she'd taken his advice, buying a pair of long gloves with cut-off fingers that went half-way up her upper arms, covering her scars. She'd taken to wearing tank tops in the heat, and had gotten hold of some black cargo pants, and while she was still not dressing to impress, she had a certain style now. One that said 'look at me too long and I'll kick your ass'.

She sulked for a week when his ink was finished. She tried to find out none-too-subtly if he was planning on getting more done. She'd sulked for another week when he'd said that he wasn't soon, and even if he were, he wouldn't bring _her_ along.

But as much as she irritated him, he had to admit she was devious. She slowly convinced Mia that it was time they both go their ears pierced, and Mia had, in turn, convinced Tony. Letty had convinced Dom to drive them all, but much to Rae's disappointment, they had to leave almost immediately after, when Mia took one look at the machine and nearly passed out.

After that, she usually went there about once a month, either talking someone into giving her a ride or by taking three buses to get to the other side of town. Tony didn't get any angry calls from Berto, so it would seem she was welcome.

Honestly, he didn't know how the guy put up with her. He certainly couldn't, she followed him around all the time. If it had been anyone else he would have suspected that she had a crush on him, but he knew that since it was Rae, it was just her latest plan to drive him crazy.


	13. Flyin' High

_**A/N: Thanks to **Lovecraft22, 2furious4u, Sparkles2004, vinlovedroolwish **(welcome!) and **Martell2981 **for their reviews.**_

**_I'm making a proclamation: The next chapter will tell why Rae left, even if I have to write 5 million pages to get it done. Just for you._**

**_This one gives some hints, though. HeeHee._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

As she drove her rental towards LAX, Rae pondered over how things could change gears so fast.

A month ago, she'd been cut off from her chosen family, they'd been on the run, and Jesse was circling the drain. Now, she was back in LA, every one was cleared, and when she was visiting Jesse the day before, the doctor had told her that he'd had his final surgery, and that they were planning on taking him off the sedatives in a couple days. Things were looking up.

She had already told Mia and Vince the good news, and was planning on telling the others when she picked them up from airport. Alejandro was following close behind her, ready to do the same.

When Brian had called to tell them to good news, he'd asked that they didn't tell Mia, since he wanted to surprise her. It had given Rae and idea, and now she had it all planned out. Alex would meet Brian and his friend Roman at the domestic terminal, while Rae would go over to the international terminal to pick up Dom, Letty and Leon, who, having ditched their cars to stay inconspicuous, were flying up at roughly the same time. Neither Mia nor Vince knew anything, and since they would both be out of the house, Rae was planning on surprising them both.

She pulled into short-term parking, Alex pulling in next to her. They went their separate ways, slightly late, thanks to traffic. Rae wound her way through the crowds, dodging kamikaze luggage carts, trying to avoid broken shins. She found the right gate, just as people started spilling out, with the slightly dazed look that always accompanies air-travel, regardless of the length.

Spotting Dom's shaved head above the crowd, she jumped up and down, waving her hand frantically.

"Over here! Dom! Over here!" Apparently he heard, since the top of his head changed directions, and the crowd between them slowly split, revealing Dom, Letty and Leon to her smiling eyes.

Once again, she found herself tackled by Letty, but this time her cousin was still smiling when she pulled back.

"Hey, girl," Letty smiled, looking more than happy to be home.

"Hey guys!" Rae replied, hugging both Dom and Leon, before leading them all towards the parking garage. "How was the flight?"

"Great!" Leon replied, "I got three numbers, two flight attendants and the cute chick sitting next to me."

"Typical Le, always the ladies man," Rae laughed.

"What can I say? It's a gift."

Letty snorted while Dom just slapped him on the back.

"So, Alex is picking up Brian and Roman, and we should get back before Vince gets back from physio and Mia shuts up the café. They're gonna be so happy to see you all!" They were all already in on the plan, deciding to skip out on the welcome back party for a day or two. "Oh! I got some great news! Jesse's gonna be fine, they're gonna wake him up in a couple days. It'll be a good while 'till he's back to normal, but they're not worried about him, uh, not making it anymore."

"Thank god," Dom muttered, running a large hand over his head. Letty clutched Leon's hand, and for a moment, Rae could swear she saw tears in her cousin's eyes. Must have been the light.

Soon they reached the car, and there was no sign of Alex and the others.

"Nice wheels," Letty smirked, referring to the bland silver sedan that Dom was loading their bags into. Rae shot her a glare, missing her truck from back home.

As if reading her mind, Leon asked, "Whatever happened to that old truck of yours?"

"It's back in Chicago, I flew here from Mexico." On her sixteenth, Tony had taken her to a wrecked car lot and said she could pick a car, and the team could do it up for her as her gift. They'd all thought she was crazy when she'd picked the rust-bucket '39 Ford Pick-up, but she'd fallen in love as soon as she'd seen it. They had been later forced to admit that while it wasn't the fastest car around, it had a certain style.

Before they could talk more, the nearby elevators _pinged_ open, revealing Alex, Brian and a large black gut that could only be Roman Pearce. They walked towards the larger group, and Rae felt everyone tense beside her. Brian stopped and couple feet from Dom, waiting to see what would happen. Rome was looking between to two curiously.

Dom took a step forward, and Brian flinched slightly, but stood firm. Dom held out his hand, which Brian slowly shook before being pulled into a manly-hug-back-slapping-thing.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem."

'Nuff said.

"This is my old buddy from Barstow, Roman. Rome, this is Dominic Toretto, Leon Thayer, and Letty and Rae Marquez."

"Nice to meet y'all," Rome said grinning wide and winking at the two girls. Letty raised and eyebrow, while Rae laughed, shaking her head.

"We'd better get going if we want to be back before Vince gets back," Rae said, moving towards the driver's side.

"I'll ride with you three," Dom said, "I've got some questions for Alex." The last time any of the Team had seen Alex was at Tony's service.

Soon, Rae was cruising back to the Fort, Letty next to her in the passenger seat, having called shotgun, and Leon sulking in the back.

"Where's that kid of yours?" Letty asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"With Mia. She's been real mopey, 'specially since Brian left, and it seems to cheer her up to have Ella around."

Letty nodded. "How old is she again?"

"Just turned three a couple months ago," Rae replied, smiling.

She felt Letty watching her. "What?"

"You must have had her just over nine months after your eighteenth, right? You met that guy pretty soon after you left," Letty said slowly.

"Yeah," Rae replied.

"Hmm." Letty and Rae's eyes met.

"It ain't fair. I got longer legs, I should be in the front," Leon sulked, missing the silent look passed between the two.

"Shut up, Le," the cousins said together.

* * *

"Faster, Pony! Faster!"

"Pony can't go faster, because Pony's about to melt in the heat."

"Faster!"

Mia sighed, shaking her head at the little girl on the back. It turned out that all of Rae's warnings about sugar were for a good reason. The kid was flyin' on a sugar high.

She set Ella down, taking the girls hand as the walked along their block. As she neared the house, she saw Vince stepping out of a yellow cab. Ella slipped out of her grip running towards something she'd seen across the street, the only thing stopping her from running on the road was Vince's quick reflexes as he grabbed her by the back of her overall-shorts.

"Kitty!"

"No kitty for you kid," Vince grumbled, still holding onto her.

"Thanks, V. Bring her inside, would you?" Mia called, happy for once to hand the hyperactive kid of to some else.

Vince lifted her, still holding her by her overalls, muttering about "Always bein' the damn babysitter."

"Whee! I'm a birdie!" Mia heard the girl call out behind her as she pushed open the front door.

"Hey, Mia."

She stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Dom?"

Suddenly there was hugging and crying (on her part, at least), Vince was yelling at Rae for not telling them while at the same time laughing like he hadn't seen them all in years instead of weeks, and all the while Ella was running around like the Energizer bunny.

Mia found herself wrapped in Brian's strong arms as he whispered in her ear, "We'll talk later." She nodded against his chest, just happy to have him back.

When things had quieted down, and she'd been introduced to Rome, she found herself being stared down by Rae who was holding her wriggling daughter in her arms.

"I looked away for like a _minute_, and she got into a giant bag of gummy bears. I'm so sorry."

Rae chuckled, filling a no-spill cup with water and handing it to Ella before setting her down. "Drink."

The little girl resumed her circuit around the living room, taking random sips from the cup under her mother's watchful eye.

"So this is your kid, huh?" Letty asked, grinning.

"Yeah, but she's not normally this bad," Rae grinned back.

Vince snorted. "Yeah, right."

Rae stuck her tongue out him, earning herself a glare.

"Wow. V. and Rae bickering. All we need is Jesse and Han and it'd be just like old times," Dom laughed, leaning back and taking a sip of his Corona.

There was a silence as they remember the past.

"You think we could get 'im back?" Leon asked.

"Don't see why not, Tran was the reason he left," Letty mused.

"It might be kinda difficult to find him, though," Vince added. "All we know is that he's in Tokyo, right? I mean, how many 'Han's are there gonna be? That's assuming he's even using his real name."

"We'll find him," Leon said decisively.

There was another moment of silence before Dom turned to Rome.

"So, you plannin' on stayin', or just visiting?"

"Don't know, man. I gotta keep an eye on this one. I guess I'll just wait 'n' see, bro."

"What about you, man?" Letty asked Alex quietly.

"Ahh, I gotta get back to work eventually, or they might notice that I'm gone." He shrugged, "But Viv's been ragging on me, wanting to meet you all, so I was thinking I'd stay a little longer and she could come down, visit for a couple weeks, that kind of thing."

"Sweet, I gotta meet her," Letty grinned. "What about you, Rae?"

All eyes snapped to her. "I, uh… I thought I'd hang around 'till Jesse's copasetic, then…" she shrugged. "I don't know."

"We're glad you're back, y'know?" Leon said, watching her closely. She gave him a weak smile.

The conversation quickly changed to what happened in Miami, and everyone listened wide-eyed as Brian and Rome told the story, frequently stopping to argue over details.

A couple hours later, Rae picked up her fast-asleep daughter and took her down to the make-shift bedroom they had set up in to games room in the basement, knowing that most of the rooms would be taken, the only empty one being Jesse's, which just felt wrong to sleep in still, despite the fact they knew he'd be okay.

She didn't notice Letty following her until the older woman spoke.

"Cute kid. She looks like you."

"Thanks. I think," Rae laughed quietly, stroking Ella's hair off her face.

"Is she Tran's?"

Rae's hand froze. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, the way you were acting with him at the races the night before you left, then nine month later, out pops Bella." While Letty's tone wasn't quiet as vicious as it could be, it wasn't exactly friendly either.

"Fuck you."

"It was just a question," she snapped.

"No. She's not Tran's. I promise you that."

"Then who?" Letty asked, her voice softer.

"I told you, I met a guy in San Francisco," Rae said, looking back at Ella.

"Right. You met a guy." Letty sighed. "When you decide you want to talk about it, let me know, 'kay?"

Rae didn't say anything, just looked down at her daughter, wishing things were different.

* * *

"Rome seems pretty cool," Mia commented as she went to stand next to Brian in the cool night air. They were alone for once, finding solitude in the back yard.

"Yeah, he's a good guy. A pain in the ass, but a good guy."

"I'm glad you had him watching your back."

"Mia-"

"It's okay Brian. I'm just glad you're okay," she cut him off, not wanting to hear his polite, well-worded brush-off.

"Mia-"

"I mean, I know you didn't use me or anything, but it was a little stupid to start professing love when we barely know each other."

"Mia-"

"I just feel that way, y'know? And I had to mmph-" she was silenced by his lips crushing down on hers.

"Just shut up and let me talk will you?" Brian said when he pulled back, slightly breathless.

She just nodded, her eyes wide.

"I realised something when I was out there. Actually, more when the car was hurtling towards the boat, really, and I'm sorry I never got to say it sooner." He moved close to her, cradling her face in his hands. "I love you, Mia Toretto."

Mia was ecstatic, but all her thoughts soon disappeared as his lips descended on hers.

* * *

Last night had been great. Relaxing, catching up, making new friends. Everything was close to perfect.

Yeah. Right.

The next morning, all hell broke loose. It became increasingly clear that Letty and Dom were having some kind of silent argument, and that Leon had taken Letty's side. Dom still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of Mia being with Brian, and nearly hit the roof when he caught him coming out of her room in the morning.

Vince was nursing a mean hang over, thanks to being nearly tee-total since he got out of hospital, and was snapping at everyone, especially Rae. Ella was bouncing around, full of energy, and generally making a lot of noise.

There was also the problem that ten people just could not live in the Fort. It was too much.

The following morning was the last straw for Rae. She got up early, needing the bathroom, and swung open the door, only to feel like she was caught in a time warp.

Vince was in the shower again. Naked, of course. His hand already stroking himself. Of course. Rae just stood there, frozen, except for the heat shooting through her belly at the sight.

But unlike the first time, his hand stopped, and she looked up to find him watching her, his face unreadable. She drowned in his blue eyes for a moment, before realizing that she was standing there with the door wide open and her sleeping daughter in the next room.

Finding her voice and courage she didn't feel, she cleared her throat. "Hurry up would you? I need the bathroom." She turned, and just before the door shut, she called out, "And next time, lock the door!"

She could hear his laugher through the wood.

She went upstairs, finding the other bathroom blessedly empty, then went to start breakfast. She made a huge batch of Mexican eggs, trying to ignore the biting pain of the chillies on her bare hands, then went downstairs to wake Ella and get her dressed.

By the time she made it back upstairs, most of the food was gone, dirty plates were everywhere, and egg was trampled into the floorboards, and most of the guys sitting watching cartoons. Just then, Vince had the misfortune to come up the stairs and ask, "What's for breakfast?"

Rae snapped. "That's it! I've had it. I did _not_ come all this way just to play mommy to the rest of you. Mia girl, I have no clue how you do it, and I don't want to know. I'm gonna get a motel room for me and Ella, no offence, but this house is just not made for this many people." She turned and snapped at Vince, "And you can get your own damned breakfast!"


	14. Loss of Innocence

_**A/N: Thanks to **2furious4u, Lovecraft22, Vinces-Girl, AngelRose82, Straight Edge Queen, Running-Wild22, VodkaJane, Martell2981, **and **AnimusPatronus **for their reviews.**_

**_Yes, I know I'm evil. And it can take me while to update, but don't worry, I'll never just stop writing. Anyway, as promised, he's the answers to a few questions...and also the longest chapter I've written so far! 7,482_** **_words, which is the longest I've written on this site, and puts this story at over 50,000 words. Gosh._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

The music was loud, pounding through the house. Everywhere was stuffy, hot, and filled with the odour of sweat, cigarettes and spilt alcohol. Couples were making out in corners as a dark hooded figure wound its way through the dancing bodies.

Things had changed a lot in the last two years. Leon and Han were out of foster care, and had their own place. It wasn't much, and the 'roaches came included, but it was _theirs_. Mia was dating, although Dom sure as hell didn't know. Jesse had dropped out of school, and was working for Tony and Dom full time. And Rae had finally started feeling comfortable in her own skin, had a few new friends from school, although, like the rest of the Team, her life still revolved around the others. She was even flirting a little, although she'd still never gone out with anyone, despite getting a few offers.

Some things however hadn't changed, and it felt like they never would, no matter what the future held. Dom and Letty were still going strong, Mia was still hopelessly sweet, Jesse still had his mullet, Leon and Han still acted like five-year-olds, Vince still avoided Rae like the plague, and she was still obsessed with him, although she'd learned to hide it. Alex was still at university, now as a post-grad, and he was still in love with Vivian. Rae had flown up to visit a couple times, and after initial hostility towards the woman, had realized she was perfect for her big brother. Tony still raced on the pro-circuit, and still 'endured' a house full of teenagers. The Team, minus Rae and Mia (who were forbidden by Tony), still raced, and generally kicked ass.

But like it or not, they were all growing up, or at least getting older, which was why the house was party central. Dom was celebrating his 21st birthday big time. Tony was up the coast for a race, and instead of going with him and spending his birthday away from his girl and his friends, Tony had suggested that Dom stay behind. He had even given the inevitable house-party the go-ahead, on the condition that when he return the house was spotless and that the activity was kept to a level appropriate for Mia and Rae attending.

While Tony and Dom's idea of what 'appropriate' was obviously varied, Tony knew that the girls would be safe in his son's care. Mia and Rae, however, were sick of being treated like five-years-olds, and repeatedly insisted that they should be allowed to do the same things that Dom had at their age. What they failed to realise was that the things Dom had done when he was sixteen were not things he wanted his little sister to be doing. At any age.

But the party was like an awakening for the girls, for once getting to know the Team's friends from the races, getting a peek at the party lifestyle they missed out on under Tony's watchful gaze.

Rae's head was spinning at the sheer number of people she'd met, and most of them were just a mixed-up blur of names and faces, only a few standing out in her memory as Letty introduced her and Mia around.

Edwin was one of them. He was a short black guy with a surprisingly deep voice who always referred to himself in the third person, which Rae found infinitely amusing, although she doubted that was the desired effect.

Johnny Tran was cute, in a rich-boy kind of way, all immaculate designer clothes and flawlessly styled hair. His eyes flickered appreciatively over Rae and Mia before Letty dragged them off to meet more people.

Hector was funny, chatting away and slipping between English and Spanish, half-heartedly flirting with Rae before wandering off to find someone he actually stood a chance of scoring with.

But despite enjoying the party, Rae began to feel overwhelmed by the people and the noise, and was making her escape to the quiet kitchen. Finally pushing her way through the throng of dancers and into the kitchen, she collapsed against the counter, riding out the adrenaline rush and trying to slow her speeding heartbeat.

"You okay?" a quite voice asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, it's just so loud," Rae replied, straightening up with a weak smile.

"You should go upstairs, get some rest," Han suggested, grabbing some beers from the well-stocked fridge. "Put on your headphones, sit back and pretend you're somewhere else."

Rae gave him a questioning look.

"I used to hate parties too," he smiled back.

Rae laughed, "I find that hard to believe!"

Han shrugged, grinning. "I know, I'm so cool."

"Yeah, yeah," she laughed, the tension draining.

"Yo Han! Where the hell are you? We're gettin' thirsty!" Vince called from the other room.

Han gave her his put-upon look. "Sometimes, I think they only want me for my beer." He sobered up, "Seriously, though Rae. The party'll be over soon, I'm sure. Just take it easy."

"Thanks," she said as he made his way back to the party.

It turned out Han was way off. The party went on for hours longer, and Rae did eventually retreat to the room she still shared with Mia, but not before wishing Dom a happy birthday. He really seemed to be enjoying himself. She'd found him on the dance floor with Letty, more than a little drunk, and a huge grin on his face. She was pretty sure that grin would disappear tomorrow when he had to deal with the clean-up and a splitting hangover, but for now, he was happy, and that was all that mattered.

Rae took Han's advice and drowned out the thumping bass below with her own soothing music, and soon she drifted off. When she woke, the house was still and quiet, and Rae could hear Mia softly snoring in the bunk above. Curiosity overcame her and she tip-toed out of bed, eager to see the results of her first real house party.

She walked along the upstairs corridor where all the doors shut, everything silent save the occasional snore, or squeak of bedsprings as someone shifted position in their sleep. Gliding down the stairs, she paused to take in the carnage below her. She was somewhat disappointed to find that while there were bottles, cans and potato chips scattered everywhere, there were no broken vases, no smashed paintings, and no graffiti on the walls.

There were a few non-residents passed out on the furniture, including Han and Leon, as well as Hector and a few of his crew. She felt like a ghost, picking her way through the rooms, drifting passed without their knowledge.

She soon found herself at the top of the stairs to the basement, and couldn't resist continuing her tour. In the last couple years, Tony had fixed it up a little, separating it into two bedrooms, with a small outer room and even a small bathroom. It was still mostly unfinished, plasterboard still visible throughout. Dom was going to move into the other bedroom when it was complete, giving his old room to Rae, but for now Vince's room was the only one finished.

She found a few more people passed out on the ragged couch in the outer room, and the smell of vomit was enough to keep her away from the bathroom. The unfinished bedroom was still locked, leaving only Vince's closed room unexplored.

She pressed her ear to the door, and heard only silence from the other side. Knowing that it was rude, and wrong, and slightly stalker-ish, she gripped the door handle and slowly turned it until the door opened with a soft '_click_'. She paused, listening for any sounds from inside, and scanning the room behind he to make sure every one was out cold.

This was it. If she pushed the door open and found Vince wrapped around some bimbo she'd probably _die_, but something inside her just couldn't resist. She'd never looked in on Vince before when he was sleeping, hell, she'd never even seen the inside of his room before, and braced herself for whatever she was about to see.

The door swung slowly inward, and she took in the dimly-lit room as it was revealed to her inch by inch. Dark walls, covered in movies posters and barely-clothed pin-ups. Messy clutter everywhere, a chest of drawers spilling over with clothes, and a set of bookshelves filled with car magazines and books on automotive repair, as well as a few forgotten textbooks that were never returned to school. His black and white guitar was obviously his most prized possession, proudly displayed in the corner of his room.

Rae finally pulled up the courage to look towards the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief to see him alone, although she was a _little_ disappointed that he was still fully clothed. She hadn't seen him naked since the day she walked in on him in the shower, except in her dreams, of course.

He was lying on top of the covers on his back, looking like he'd barely managed to fall into bed before passing out. She walked over to him wincing when she cracked her shin on the foot of his bed, and pausing to see if he'd wake. After a moment, she inched forward until she was standing right next to him.

She had to hold back a slightly hysterical giggle as she imagined what would happen if he woke right now, to find her standing over him, staring. He's probably feel like he'd stepped into a slasher movie, with the crazy orphan suddenly snapping and hacking everyone to death in the middle of the night.

She watched his face, expecting his eyes to snap open any second, but they didn't. His usual gruff scowl was missing from his face, instead he had the almost serene look he got when ever he played his guitar, like the rest of the world had fallen to the wayside.

She found herself leaning closer, taking in every line, ever hair, every pore. She could smell the beer on his breath, and smell his own scent underneath: engine oil, cheap soap and unmistakeably _Vince_.

_His lips look so soft._

She couldn't resist. Knowing it was all she was ever likely to get, she softly brushed her lips against his, not expecting him to react in his sleep. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her over his body and claiming her mouth with his, his tongue delving deep before he rolled her over and buried his face in her neck and settled back into dreamland again.

She lay frozen, her heart nearly giving out with the shock of him almost waking, and the feel of his lips on hers. Part of her wanted to stay there, pretend this was where she was meant to be, but she knew that to him, she was whatever racer skank he was dreaming about, nothing more. She waited until she was certain he was back asleep and then slowly and carefully inched her way out from under his arm, sliding onto the floor before scurrying out of his room and up the stairs.

She lay in bed, willing her pounding heart to slow, and replaying his kiss over and over in her head. She'd gotten her stupid, childish wish. Vince was her first kiss.

Too bad he wouldn't remember.

* * *

"Dom?"

"Yeah, man?" Dom grumbled around his cereal.

"Did I hook up with anyone last night?" Vince asked, frowning over his orange juice.

"What, you can't remember?" Letty sneered jokingly as she dropped another handful of bottles into the trash, causing everyone to flinch at the sound.

Vince glared at her. "I don't remember anyone from the party, and I was completely dressed this morning. It's just I remember kissing some hot little chick, but…"

"Probably just a dream, man," Dom replied, reaching for the aspirin Letty had set out on the table.

"Yeah."

* * *

"This is it son, I can feel it. Today's the day!" Tony grinned, wrapping a thick arm around Dom's shoulders.

"Yeah," Dom agreed. "The Viper's never run better."

"You'll have a little competition from Kenny Linder, and Chuck Hastings might give you a run for your money, but you're right. I can taste it in the air!" Jimmy laughed from the trailer.

"Damn right! Today's the day!"

* * *

The Team stared in shocked silence as they watched Tony's twisted car burning up on the television screen. The commentator was talking real fast but no one could really comprehend what they were seeing or hearing, not until Mia's cracked whisper broke through.

"Daddy?"

Suddenly, everyone started moving. Letty and Rae surrounded Mia, holding her close while Vince had the good sense to switch of the TV. Tricia, who had been watching right alongside them, grabbed the phone at went into the other room, calling her husband and trying to find out anything she could. The others were all telling Mia that he was probably okay, that the fire fighters probably got him out before it was too late, but no one really believed it, echoed by the fact that no one put the TV back on to see.

Mia was crying and shaking in her friend's arms, and they were whispering to her that everything would be all right even though it could never be again. Mia's dad was dead and there was no way to make that better, no way to fix that. Rae and Letty knew that, knew the pain that Mia was going through, and it broke their hearts that there was nothing they could do.

* * *

The funeral was quiet, despite the large turn-out. It seemed that everyone from the neighbourhood had come to pay their respects, as well as almost everyone Tony had ever worked with. Dom and Mia stood next to the coffin, Letty, Rae and Vince beside them. Leon, Han, Jesse and Alex, who had flown down to pay his respects, all stood behind them, offering silent support. Jimmy and the other mechanics were on the other side, all looking slightly out of place in black suits, all of the big, tough guys on the verge of tears.

The minister said his piece, which no-one really heard, and everyone filled back to their cars to make their way back to the Fort. The brightly painted cars were the only splash of color in the whole place, but everyone had silently agreed that Tony wouldn't want a bunch of rented black limos seeing him off, and had driven the cars he had loved, and in the case of the Team, the cars he had helped them build.

As soon as they got back to the Fort, Dom, who hadn't spoken to anyone since the crash, went out to the garage, where the twisted Viper sat waiting. Mia had screamed hysterically when he'd had it towed back, but he hadn't batted an eye. He hadn't shown _any_ emotion since he'd been released from hospital after they'd had to sedate him at the races.

Mia, on the other hand hadn't stopped crying, and no one knew what to say to make it better. Rae sat next to her, holding the younger girl's limp hand, trying hard not to remember the pain of her own parent's funeral.

People kept coming up to her, giving her condolences and tell her how much he'd be missed, but Mia didn't react to any of them, and eventually Tricia came over and crouched in front of them.

"Mia, hun. Why don't you go on upstairs and have a lie down, I can take care of things here, okay?"

Mia nodded and Rae led her upstairs and got her settled in bed, stroking her best friend's hair soothingly before closing the door and giving her some time away from the pitying looks and whispered comments.

Rae looked around, seeing the guys and Alex sharing a beer in the back yard, the people, strangers and friends milling around the house that now felt empty, despite the crowds of mourners. She needed some space, to get away from the echoes of her parents, and deal with her own grief over losing Tony, the closest thing to a father she had in a long time.

* * *

Letty frantically stuffed her clothes into her military duffle bag, grabbing photos and other things that were important to her, leaving everything else behind. She'd had enough of her Abuela's cruel remarks, the last straw being when she's said that Tony deserved what he'd got for taking in trouble makers and raising 'bad seeds'.

Grabbing her stuff, Letty ran down the stairs, ignoring her grandmother screaming at her and stopping only to look at the framed photo of her dad on the wall. She reached out and grabbed the dog tags from where they hung on the edge of the frame before running out of Abuela's house for the last time.

* * *

Vince walked around aimlessly for a while; dragging his feet and thinking about how quickly all their lives had changed. He'd left the funeral, unable to deal with it all, and worrying about Mia and Dom. His best friend wasn't coping with it, and Vince had now clue of how to get Dom to admit to the pain he was feeling. Vince sucked at all that emotional stuff.

He soon found himself headed to the back entrance to the café, and was startled out of his thoughts when he heard soft crying. Turning the corner, he saw Rae slumped against the wall she and Mia had painted all those years ago, her head buried in her hands.

He stood there for a moment, not sure what to do, then sat next to her, gingerly putting his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened before she collapsed against him, her tears dripping onto his shoulder.

He recognised the pain she was going through. As Tony's no-quite-children, they felt the pain of his death, but didn't feel they had the right to let it out when his real children were suffering so badly.

This was where it had started, the first time she'd met Tony, the first time she'd met them all. It was the same for him, when he was nine and Dom had brought him round to look at his dad's cool cars, this was where it began, the first time he'd met Tony Toretto.

After a while, Rae quieted down and pulled back, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her black sweatshirt.

"Sorry," she sniffed.

"It's alright."

They sat in silence for a while, just staring at the empty yard that was once filled with greasy car parts and laughing people.

"It was good of Alex to come in the middle of school," Vince said, feeling the need to say _anything_.

"Yeah. He didn't know Tony well, but if it weren't for him taking me in, well…He did a lot for both of us," she shrugged, looking down.

"You goin' back with him?" Vince asked, and despite the fact that Rae could annoy the shit outta him sometimes, he wished she would stay. He didn't think the Team could stand loosing anyone else just now. Mia certainly couldn't.

"We talked, if it's okay with Dom and everyone, I'll stay. Graduation is only a couple of months away, and it would be stupid to change schools now. I don't want to leave anyway. This is home."

"Yeah," Vince agreed. "Is Mia going to be okay?" he asked, worried about the girl that had been like his little sister forever.

"I…I think so. She just needs time to deal with it. It won't stop hurting though, not ever," her voice was soft, and Vince looked at her, seeing a far away look on her face.

He suddenly realised that not only was she living through Tony's death, but reliving her own parent's, too. Letty had to be going through the same thing. Vince suddenly felt grateful. His dad may not be winner of Father of the Year, but Vince had never had to deal with losing him like that.

* * *

Dom sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, frowning at the engine in front of him. He'd been working on it for hours, and he still couldn't get the engine sounding right. Normally, he'd take a break, or ask Vince or Jesse to take a look, but now he _needed_ to work on it, he _needed_ the challenge.

When he wasn't at the Garage, like he was now, he would be working on the Viper at home. He knew in the back of his mind that he was ignoring his family when they needed him, that Mia was falling apart, but he just couldn't deal with it.

Working in either place took his mind of things, he didn't have to think about anything, he could just work. And he could _feel_ his dad there, and for a few moments at a time convince himself that he'd walk around the corner any minute, laughing, and it would have all been a bad dream.

Dom hadn't talked to anyone, because what would he say? That the idea of surviving without his father scared the shit out of him? That he had no clue of how to take care of anyone, of how to run the business, of how to pay the bills? That he woke up silently screaming every night, so now he didn't even try to sleep?

He couldn't talk to anyone. Not Vince, not Letty, not Mia. They couldn't bring his dad back, so what fuckin' use would it be?

Shaking his head at the thoughts, he picked up the wrench and was about to start working again when he heard the door behind him swinging open, and booted steps came inside.

He turned around, and there he was. Linder. The bastard that had clipped his father's car, the bastard that had caused all of this.

Dom saw red.

* * *

The trial was quick. Alex had given them the number of a friend of his, and based on his recommendation, Dom pled guilty. Despite the violence of the attack, the judge was lenient considering what Dom had been through and the regret he voiced, and he was sentenced to three years in Lompoc with the possibility of parole in two if he behaved and underwent anger management therapy while he was inside.

He couldn't look at his family when the court officers led him out, couldn't deal with Mia's tears or Letty's pain. He knew Vince would take care of them, and he'd talked to Jimmy as soon as he'd realised he'd be locked up, everything that could be taken care of was.

He tried to convince himself that it was enough; that as long as they were taken care of, everything would be all right, but he knew it was a lie. He'd miss Mia and Rae's graduation, miss out on birthdays, Christmas', miss out on everything for the next two-to-three years.

But he deserved it, because Kenny Linder would miss out on a lot more. Dom's beating had caused brain damage, and Linder wouldn't be able to race ever again. That was why Dom had plead guilty, not just because he was, but because he deserved to be punished for what he did.

* * *

On the face of things, the Team seemed to be coping, the businesses were still running, Mia and Rae had graduated with honors and they were still kicking ass at the street races. And that's what Vince told Dom when he went to visit him once a month. Dom wouldn't let anyone else visit him, not even Mia or Letty.

But in reality, it was completely different. Mia was flirting more and more, Letty was always snappish and Rae spent more and more time at the parlour, and less and less time with the others. Vince, with the help of Leon, Han, Letty and Jesse, was handling running the garage, but they were barely breaking even. It was the same with the café. The only real money they were making came from their winnings at the races, and most of that went back into the cars.

Vince was strict with the girls, knowing that Tony or Dom would be able to keep them in line with a few well-chosen words, but he just seemed to say the wrong thing and piss them off.

The parties they had got wilder and more frequent, and without Dom, the whole Team started to spiral apart.

Tensions were high when they were working on Vince's car, trying to give it an extra kick for the race on Saturday night, sorely needing to win against Tran. They were making a few modifications, and they needed to keep them secret in order to have the advantage over Tran, otherwise he'd throw some more of Daddy's money at it and buy back the advantage with parts shipped overnight from Japan.

The problem was, the Team were having trouble concentrating on making the upgrades when Rae and Vince were screaming at each other.

"This is bullshit, Vince! It's my birthday on Saturday and I want to go to the races! That's _all_ I want!" Rae yelled, hands on her hips.

"No way," Vince replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "When we win, we'll have some extra cash and we can all go out on Sunday."

"Yeah, _right_. Win or lose, you're all going to get shit-faced and spend Sunday flinching at every sound above a whisper! And it's not about that! I'll be eighteen, and I want to go to the race!"

"No."

"Letty's been going since she was sixteen, and Jesse's a year younger than me and _he's_ been going for years! That's not right, V.!"

"Tony and Dom said they didn't want you and Mia at the races!"

"Yeah, but they said only 'till I was eighteen! After that it's _my_ choice, and I'm going!"

"The hell you are! You go there and I'll get someone to drive you right back. I'll lock you in your fuckin' _room_ if I have too."

"How the hell can you let Letty go and not me? It's bullshit!"

"Yeah, well _Letty_ can take care of herself!"

Rae's eyes narrowed and her fist clenched at her sides. "And I can't?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Go ahead and deck me Rae, it won't change my mind," Vince smirked, eyes daring her to do just that.

Rae stared at him a moment before stomping to her car and getting inside with a loud slam of the door before peeling off as fast as her '39 pick-up could go.

Vince just shook his head as she left, wishing he could explain to her. While the others saw her for what she was, an almost-grown woman, he still saw the scared kid talking about her mother's rape, and he didn't want her anywhere near the races.

* * *

Rae was leaning against the counter of the café, waiting for the lunch rush to arrive, bored out of her skull and still fuming over what Vince had said to her, about how the others hadn't even _tried_ to help her out. If he kept treating her like a child, even the thought of leaving the Team wouldn't be enough to stop her from getting in her car and driving off into the sunset. She needed to find someway to prove to them all that she wasn't just some kid to be ordered around.

A cough drew her out of her thoughts on how to do so, and she looked up to find Johnny Tran grinning at her.

"Deep thoughts, sweetheart?"

She hated being called sweetheart. "Nah, not really. What can I get you?"

"Nothing, actually. I just, ahh…" he ran a hand through his wavy hair as if nervous, and she knew he was trying to play her. "I wanted to ask if you'd have dinner with me tomorrow."

"Sure," she replied, feeling brazen. "But stop the shy act, it doesn't suit you."

He laughed genuinely. "Ah, you got me sweetheart. Sorry."

"No problem. You can meet me at Giordano's at seven."

* * *

They talked, and while Rae decided she was most definitely not attracted to him, she realised she could use him to get back at Vince. Despite feeling a twinge of guilt, she told him about the mods the Team were making to Vince's car, and asked him about the races.

"Yeah, I heard that King Vincent wasn't letting you go. Y'know, you could always come with me, as my date," he grinned, obviously thinking he had a chance with her. She had half a mind to tell him that she would never be interested in a spoiled little rich boy like him, but she realised that this was her chance to go to the races.

Honestly, she'd lived happily enough for years hearing about the races second-hand, but this had only turned into a major issue when Vince had shot her down so completely, now it was her mission just to prove him wrong.

"Okay."

* * *

As soon as they arrived, Rae understood why her friends were always so eager to come here. Even if she _hadn't_been into fast cars, the place was electric. It seemed like every kind of car was there, as well as every kind of person. Guys (and a few girls) were posing in front of their cars, showing off their goods. Racer skanks were everywhere, looking like they were walking around in their underwear, _also_ showing of their goods. Music was coming from a dozen different sources and everyone was amped up and ready for fun.

Rae noticed that the rest of the team were there already, and took a deep breath before stepping out of Johnny Tran's car. She watched as they did a double take, not realising at first who it was they were seeing. She couldn't blame them, she'd barely recognised herself when Mia had finished with her, and that was before she'd stopped at a gas station and changed clothes before meeting up with Tran.

She was wearing a short pleated leather skirt, stiletto-heeled boots that went up to her thighs, and a top that despite having long sleeves was cut _very_ low. She had considerably less skin showing than most of the girls there, but her clothes were picked to show of every curve that had been hiding underneath her baggy clothes. Her hair was in loose, messy curls, and for the first time in her life, she was wearing make-up, smoky black around her eyes and luscious deep red on her lips.

She felt wild and crazy and not like herself at all, and she _loved_ it.

"Rae?" Letty's voice asked, shocked.

"Yes, Letty?" she replied calmly.

Suddenly Vince was right in her face. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

Before she answered, Tran pushed in between them, a broad grin on his faces. "She's my date, aren't you sweetheart?" he purred, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a kiss.

All she wanted to do was push him off, but she went with it and just smiled sweetly at the Team when he pulled back, relishing their shocked expressions. She knew they'd _never_ treat her like a stupid, naïve little kid _ever_again.

Vince just glared at her a second, then shrugged. "Fine. You ready to lose, Tran?"

"Not today," Tran smiled back.

"Alright, alright. Hand 'em over people. Edwin ain't got all day," Edwin said, holding out a baseball cap to collect the money from both of them, and the—

"What was that?" she asked.

"Pink slips, sweetheart, we're racing for cars, plus three grand."

"You can't do that, Vince! You'll…You could lose your car!" Rae exclaimed in horror, realising what she had done.

"It's a free world, Rae, and a private challenge. I can do what ever I want," he growled before stalking towards his car. The others followed behind him, shooting disappointed looks back at Rae, just because she was there with Tran. When they found out what she'd done, how she'd betrayed them, they would _never_ forgive her.

* * *

"How the hell did he find out?" Han asked no one in particular.

They were back at the Fort after Vince's humiliating defeat, and while the party was still going strong around them, the Team were sitting and drowning their sorrows.

"I don't know man," Leon said, shaking his head. Despite Rae turning up with Tran, none of them even _thought_ of the possibility that it had been her.

Their faith was killing her, and she opened her mouth to confess, but Vince spoke before she could.

"He's probably got a guy paid off at Harry's. That's what I'd do if I had the cash. Even _Tran _could figure out what we were planning from the list of parts we ordered."

The others groaned and nodded in agreement, and Vince stood, rolling his shoulders. "Come on, we got a party to enjoy, win or lose."

As the they all stood and walked away, he shot Rae a look that told her that he knew _exactly_ who it was that had spilled the beans to Tran, and she swallowed hard, grateful that he hadn't told the others, but knowing he wasn't just going to let it go.

A few hours later, and Rae was still miserable. The others weren't speaking to her, and it seemed like every guy in the place was hitting on her, when the only man she wanted hated her guts. Some birthday.

She resolved to find Vince and talk to him, offer to pay him back, make a public confession, _anything_ just to make it right. She saw him heading down the stairs with some random blond chick, and grateful she'd taken off those ridiculously painful boots, she quickly followed, hoping to catch them before they made it to his room.

"Vince!" she gasped before they could go inside. Several people were sitting on the couch and turned with curiosity as he froze in place.

He turned to them, "Go." He shook the blond off. "You too. Go!"

She pouted and shot Rae a dirty look before flouncing back up the stairs, followed by the other partygoers. Vince grabbed Rae's arm painfully and pulled her into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Vince, I—" she began, but he slammed her back against the wall.

"Shut up, Rae!" he yelled in her face, and she could smell the beer on his breath and realised he was more drunk than she had guessed. "You sold us out to Tran! For what? A trip to the fuckin' races? Or maybe that's it, huh, Rae? _Fucking._ 'Cause I know for damn sure he'd fuck you if you let him!" he roared.

Rae was pissed off. She'd expected him to scream at her, but he was practically calling her a whore!

"Yeah, well maybe I do!" she answered without thinking.

"_What?_" Vince growled his voice low.

"Maybe I do let him fuck me. All. Night. Long," she replied, not able to stop the lies spilling from her throat. "I mean, come _on_! I'm eighteen, Vince! What the hell were _you_ doing at my age? Or should I say _who_? Johnny's cute, and he's got money, why shouldn't I mess around with him, huh?"

Vince stared at her a moment, his jaw working, then he slammed his fist in the wall next to her head. Before she could even blink, his lips were on hers and he was pushing her into the wall with his body, every ounce of his anger in his kiss, and she soon replied with the same ferocity.

Rae knew he was drunk, knew that if he wasn't in Caveman mode, he would never be doing this, and she really didn't care. She was quite happy to take advantage of him if he kept kissing her like this.

He pulled off his own shirts before his hands slipped up under her top, quickly pulling it over her head before roughly pulling down the cups of her bra and taking one hardened nipple into his mouth, making her writhe where she was pinned against the wall. While his mouth danced across her chest, nipping and licking, his big hands travelled down her sides before sliding back up her thighs. One hand held her still as another dipped inside her panties, and deeper, feeling the wetness already gathering there, and quickly spreading it around before pulling back and ripping the fabric off with a hard twist of his hand.

Then his palms were moving around to grip her ass cheeks and suddenly he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs instinctually around his waist, her hands gripping his shoulders as he began to grind his jean-covered crotch against her. She threw her head back at the feel of his large body rubbing against her, the lips trailing up her neck, his hands squeezing her thighs rhythmically.

His lips claimed her again, and she drowned in his demanding kiss until she felt him lifting her slightly before he slammed inside her, swallowing her cry of pain. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice that he'd just taken her virginity, and kept slamming into her, not giving her a chance to adjust. She held on, knowing that the first time was supposed to hurt, and eventually the burning feeling slowly faded and she began to moan in pleasure with each thrust.

Soon he was fucking her so hard that her head was hitting the wall with every thrust, and all she could do was hold on for dear life, her nails digging sharply into his broad shoulder as she came and he roared his own release into her neck.

Rae sagged in his arms, expecting it to be over, but his lips were already nibbling on her throat and he was still half hard inside of her. Locking his arms around her, he moved them over to the bed and was soon moving above her, thrusting inside her again, and again, and again…

* * *

Vince woke, feeling the warmth of another body next to him, pushing sleep from his mind.

Then he remembered.

He sat bolt upright in bed, praying that it was just a dream, that he hadn't really spent the night fucking little Rae Marquez. One peek next to him shattered that illusion, and he leaped out of bed, running a hand through his hair and pacing back a fourth, trying to think of a way out of this mess.

Rae had woken at his sharp movements and was sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking at the room around her.

"Oh."

He looked at her to find her staring at him in shock, as if the night was just catching up to her, too. Then her eyes drifted down to his naked cock and she licked her lips unconsciously. Vince felt himself beginning to harden and quickly grabbed the quilt off the bed to cover himself and his embarrassment.

But it only made things worse. The quilt was the only thing hiding Rae's body from his gaze and now she sat there in shock, letting his lecherous side get a good, long look. Her hair was mussed, her lips were swollen and her skin was red on her neck and chest from his bites and kisses. And the razor burn between her legs.

But that wasn't what he found himself staring at. No. He was staring at the pinkish stains on the white sheets. Either he'd been rougher than usual, or she was a virgin, and the deep blush spreading across her cheeks was more than enough answer.

He felt sick. She was just a kid, and he'd…He had to get out of there.

"I'm taking a shower. Been gone when I get back," he spat out, angry with himself, that he could be so _stupid_. He turned before he saw the look of hurt in her eyes, grabbing some clothes and all but running to the basement bathroom.

* * *

She cried silently as she hunted down her clothes, pulling them on and wincing as pain twinged between her legs. Her panties were a complete write-off, so she threw them in the trash can before she left the room, being careful not to wake any off the people passed out outside.

She tip-toe up to her room, praying Mia wouldn't wake. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she looked at the clock to see it was still very early. Grabbing a change of clothes, she quickly went back to the bathroom, showering the evidence of her night with Vince off her body, and thinking about what she was going to do.

She couldn't stay, not now, not after the way he looked at her, as if she disgusted him. She couldn't face the others, either. He had to leave today before they woke, get away for a couple weeks and figure some things out. Maybe by the time she came back things would have settled down and the others would have forgiven her, and she could go back to pretending Vince didn't mean anything to her.

She packed quickly, keeping one eye on sleeping Mia. It didn't take long, despite having lived there for the past four years, she really hadn't accumulated much stuff and she could easily make it all fit in her pick-up. Knowing that if she just left they'd come looking for her, she wrote a short note and left it on the counter, telling them she'd be back in a couple weeks, that she just needed space.

Then with one last check to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything important, she left.

* * *

It was Mia that found the note. She didn't know what had happened the night before, and when she found out, she blamed the others for pushing her away. They called everyone in town that Rae knew, but none of them had heard from her. Vince finally put a stop to it, reminding Mia that Rae said she'd be back in a couple weeks, and that they didn't need to worry 'till then.

They settled down to wait, and no one spoke about it again, just quietly checking the machine, the mailbox, _anything_ for a message from her.

* * *

Rae wiped her mouth as she finished vomiting for the second time that morning, her mind drifting back to the three pregnancy tests she taken the night before. She's already stayed in San Francisco longer than she'd planned, waitressing to pay her rent and cowardly avoiding going back home. But now she couldn't, how would she explain it? Even if she hadn't planned getting knocked up, there was no way she was getting an abortion, so Vince would _know_, and soon the others would find out, and she'd never be able to move past it.

No. She wouldn't go back. They didn't want her anyway, and no doubt Vince had told them what she'd told Tran. She'd go stay with Alejandro for a while, get back on her feet, and figure out what she was going to do.

And L.A., the Team, and Vince would all just be one bad dream.

* * *

**_Yeah, I know, most of you probably guessed it already, but now you know, even if _he _doesn't. -K_**


	15. Mistakes We've Made

**_A/N: I'm baaack! So, so, so, so, SO sorry it's been so long. I could give you a huge list of reasons why it took so long, but I won't. I was all _****_ready to start up before Christmas, but my Gramma, whom I loved very much, passed away suddenly, so I had to fly to Chicago and help deal with everything._**

**_This chapter is short, more on par with the first few, and they're probably gonna stay that way. The theory is: Short chapters more often. Fingers crossed._**

**_Also, my main writing buddy has gone off and joined the army (seriously, and good luck to her), so I could use all the input and feedback you want to give._**

_**Thanks to: **MUW D'Bellegirl**, **Straight Edge Queen**,** Special2**, **2furious4u**, **Vinces-Girl**, **Lovecraft22 **(about your PM: the thought had crossed my mind, minus the alcohol, but to be honest, I haven't the foggiest what's in that box yet), **Running-Wild22**, **vinlovedroolwish**, **Sparkles2004**, **AngelRose82**, **Martell2981 **and **JENJEN87 **for their reviews. Also a big thanks to everyone who has added me to their favs/alert lists.**_

**_As always, Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Dom looked down, watching the steady rise and fall of Jesse's repaired chest, listening to his young friend's heartbeat on the nearby monitor. He looked so weak. The doctors were saying her was going to make it, but he still looked half dead.

Not that Jesse had ever looked like an example of good, healthy living. He'd always looked a few meals behind and a few hits ahead of everyone else, but that was just natural Jesse. This – this was something else.

It was then that it finally hit Dom. He finally understood where Leon and Letty were coming from. It didn't matter that he hadn't forced them into anything, long ago he'd taken on the role of their leader, and it was his responsibility to look after all of them. It was the price of absolute loyalty. This was his fault. He hadn't forced Jesse to work the heists, hadn't force him to challenge Tran, but he should have paid better attention, and been more worried about finding his friend than pulling that last heist.

He finally realised that it wasn't that they had been caught; it was that he'd even suggested the idea in the first place. And it was the same with Letty. She'd given him everything, her body, her heart, her trust. He knew she'd never cheated on him, never been with any other guy. She's waited for him when he was inside, and had accepted that prison had changed him. He'd repaid that faithfulness by cheating on her, treating her like she was just some random chick. And still she'd stood by him.

He honestly didn't know if he could change. A wild part of him didn't want to. But he would try. For Jesse and Letty and Mia and the rest of them, he'd try. They deserved better. That first night at the races, O'Connor had said that respect was more important to people. Dom always thought he was one of them. But as some point, he'd gotten respect mixed up with worship. Things had nearly been fucked up beyond repair. He'd been given a second chance, and he wasn't going to let it pass.

The doctor had stopped the sedatives an hour ago, but warned that it might take Jesse a while to come 'round. Dom had been waiting, hoping that he'd have a chance to speak to the Jesse before the others arrived, but so far the young man hadn't stirred. Dom was beginning to think he wasn't going to wake at all when he noticed a slight twitch in Jesse's fingers.

"Jess? Can you hear me little brother?" he said softly.

"Mmmph."

Dom let out a shaky laugh, and didn't even notice the wetness in his eyes. "Hey man, how ya doin'?"

"Dominic?" Jesse croaked.

"Yeah, it's me. You had us scared for a while there, Jess."

"Wha…? Uggh. I feel like shit," he rasped, a shaky hand coming up to rub his face. "Did I get shot?" he asked almost disbelievingly. "Tran…?"

"Yeah, but we got him. He ain't gonna be makin' any more trouble. For anyone," Dom promised, taking Jesse's skinny-assed hand in his. "Forget about it."

"I'm sorry Dom. I screwed up bad," Jesse said, eerily remind Dom of the last time they'd talked, out on the front sidewalk, just before Tran had started shooting.

"No Jess, _I_ screwed up. I messed everything up. I'll do better, I promise," Dom said, not even realizing how upset he was.

"It's okay Dom," Jesse mumbled, starting to drift back to sleep. The doc said he'd be in and out of it while he got his strength back. "It'll be alright…"

After a few minutes, Dom heard loud laughter coming up the hallway, and he ducked into the bathroom, splashing his face with water. When he came out, the others were crowded in the room, looking at him expectantly.

"He, uh, woke up for a few minutes." Everyone started grinning, and Leon let out a whoop before Mia shushed him. "Doc said he'd be in and out. You can stay for a while if you want. I've gotta get back to the shop. Let me know if he wakes up again."

He left before any of them could ask any questions, but only one of them followed him.

"Dom?" she asked quietly.

He turned, but he couldn't meet her eyes. "I gotta talk to the doc, let him know Jess woke up."

He felt a soft hand on his cheek, gently but firmly moving him to meet her dark eyes. She watched him for a moment, understanding flooding across her face.

"I'm sorry Letty."

She didn't say anything, but nodded, taking his hand and walking with him towards the nurses' station.

* * *

"Is this everything?" Vince asked, dropping another duffel bag on the hotel bed.

"Yeah, I think so," Rae shrugged, already unpacking Bella's clothes into one of the drawers. "Thanks for helping me, V."

He shrugged back, not really looking at her. "It's sorta my fault you're here. I ain't exactly been welcoming."

Rae sighed. "Vince, you're about the only person that has a reason to want me gone. And it's not because of that that I'm leaving. I swear, I thought living with a three-year-old was hard. But all of us in that house…it's too much."

Vince chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. But it's nice having everyone back."

"Even me?" Rae asked quietly, so quietly he almost didn't hear.

Vince sat abruptly on the edge of the bed, dropping his head into his hands. He didn't reply.

Rae leaned against the chest of drawers opposite him. "I'm sorry I screwed up. I didn't understand."

Vince looked up. "Didn't understand what?"

"The race with Tran. No one told me it was for pink slips. I thought you'd just loose a little money, and get knocked down a peg. I was so angry at being left out, I just wanted you all to see me," she explained. _I just wanted _you_ to see me_. "I know that doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if it was pink slips or pennies, I betrayed the Team."

She was trying to hold back the tears, feeling the guilt as though it were yesterday, feeling like she was still a stupid naïve barely eighteen-year-old. She loved that the Team was almost back together, but she knew that once things settled down, people would start asking questions, questions she didn't want to answer. About that last race, about why she left, about Bella. She realised in was pure luck that Vince hadn't figured it out.

Vince was quiet, but when he looked up, Rae could see the muscles jumping in his neck. He was pissed.

"_That's_ what you think all of this is about?" he said, gesturing widely. "The fuckin' _race_?"

She could only gape at him.

"Dammit, Rae! It was just a car! We've lost plenty of 'em since. Yeah, the Team woulda been angry, but we'd have gotten over it! O'Connor was an undercover _cop_ for Christ's sake! You left us, Rae! With no word for more than three _years_! _You_ abandoned _us_. _You_ turned your back on _us_. They don't even know why." His voice quieted. "I'm the only one that does."

Rae and Vince just stood there, looking at each other. There was something in his eyes she didn't recognise. Something like anger. But he didn't seem angry with her, not really. Just tired of arguing.

"You left because of…of what happened that night," Vince forced out.

She nodded. They were finally talking about it. Finally dealing with the elephant in the room.

"You hate me," she said flatly.

He frowned, and opened his mouth to speak when a small rocket burst through the door headed straight for Rae.

"Momma! Momma! There a pool! I go swimmy?" Bella asked, jumping up and down, he pigtails bouncing. Alex came running after her, a sheepish look on his face.

Rae cleared her throat, feeling flustered by the sudden change in situation. "Um, ah, we can go swimmy later, 'kay Munchkin? And maybe this weekend we can go to the beach. Did you bring duckie?"

The little girl nodded, and began digging through the bags on the floor. "Bella!" Rae admonished as her daughter started tipping clothes all over the floor.

"Duckie!" Ella cheered, holding up a big, bright rubber duck that could give Binky a run for her money.

Rae sighed, quickly stuffing the clothes back into the bags. "I wanted to take Ella to see Jesse, do you think that would be okay? I don't want to wear him out."

Vince nodded and shrugged, running his hand over the back of his neck. "When will your wife get here?" he asked Alex.

"Friday, lunchtime." He gave a wide grin. "It'll be nice to see her."

"I'll bet," Rae said, rolling her eyes. Even after years of marriage, they still acted like newlyweds. "Come on sweetie, were going to see Uncle Jesse."

"Poor thing," she pouted.

"Not poor thing anymore, he's awake," Rae smiled.

"Jess Ella's friend," the little girl smiled.

"Give me a lift?" Vince asked. "I've got another appointment."

Rae nodded, checking her pockets for the keys. All her courage concerning Vince was gone for the moment. At least with Bella there they wouldn't be able to talk.

* * *

Vince watched her as she drove, the kid singing along to Disney in the back. He couldn't get his head around the fact that the reason she's been gone so long was her stupid guilt, not what he'd done to her. It couldn't be right, could it?

She was so damn frustrating. She always had been, 'cept back then she'd just been the brat that drove him up the wall. Now she was full grown, and he couldn't forget the drunken kiss he'd stolen all those weeks back.

He wanted her. He didn't know why. But he did.

But he couldn't forget what he'd done that night, or how she'd left them all afterwards. He didn't know what he was going to do. He just knew one thing.

He was well and truly fucked.


	16. Moving On

_**A/N: Thanks to **Straight Edge Queen**, **AllieKat21**, **Villana Del AmourRunning-Wild22**, **Sparkles2004**, **Jas120**, **AnimusPatronus**, and** vinlovedroolwish **for there reviews!**_

**_As for Vince: Yeah, he's a little slow on the uptake as far as Bella is concerned, but lets be honest, it's not his brains that got me writing this little story ;)_**

**_This chapter is (I think) going to be the last flashback chapter until we start telling Han's story (which will happen later). Also, I didn't notice this 'till I was proofing, but it's mostly narrative. Oh well. Still, it ties up the end of the flashbacks to the beginning of the present._**

**_I promise things are going to start heating up soon!_**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Mia passed through the house, feeling like a ghost. She'd found Rae's note the day before, and after that, it had been a blur of frantic phone calls trying to find out where she had gone. Mia couldn't figure it out; she got Rae needing a little time alone, sort of. Lord knows she'd wanted to get away from everyone now and again. But she hadn't known Rae was having a harder time than the rest of them.

She quickly emptied the laundry from the hamper in the room she had shared with Rae, then moved to Dom and Letty's room. It still looked like her brother had never left. Letty hadn't changed anything when she moved in, just adding her own things here and there. It was almost like he still lived there.

Most of Letty's dirty clothes had at least made it to the general vicinity of her hamper, and Mia loaded them into her basket with a sigh. She just couldn't get over the fact that all her best friend left was a note. If it weren't for the fact that it was definitely Rae's writing, Mia might have thought she'd been abducted or something. But there it was, plain as day. Mia felt a little betrayed. Not telling the others, yeah. They'd go all big brother, and Letty wouldn't let her cousin out of her sight for months if she thought Rae was bailing on her.

But Mia was her best friend. She wouldn't have been happy, but she would never have ratted Rae out. She didn't even know Rae was having problems. Maybe it was because of Tran, or more precisely, because he beat Vince. She wouldn't put it past any of the guys to have said something to piss off Rae. But it must have been something pretty bad to have sent her packing.

Probably Vince then. That would explain why he was acting so weird.

Hefting the large basket higher on her hip, she pushed into Vince's room. Picking her way through the crap on the floor, she gingerly placed crumpled up pieces of clothing in her basket. She didn't know what was clean or dirty, but she figured it was a safe bet to just shove it all in.

Rae would come back soon, Mia just knew it. 'till then, she'd just have to put up with the rest of them. She was just leaving Vince's room when her highly trained laundress senses spotted a crumpled up piece of cloth in Vince's trash can. She lifted it carefully between her thumb and index finger and placed it on the top of her pile. It was obvious from the lace and color that it was a pair of woman's panties, and Mia shook her head in disgust. Another racer skank who's name he never even bothered to learn.

Making her way to the laundry room, she was greeted by a trash bag with a hastily scrawled note taped to it.

_Wash these for us? Pretty please?_

_-Han_

Mia smiled at the note. Not that she wanted more laundry, but she had spoken to Leon and Han when they came round earlier, and neither of them had mentioned the laundry. They knew she would have told them to shove it if they had, but now she just put it in with the rest.

* * *

The next day, Vince made his way down to his room, dog-tired. The Team had already started working hard on a replacement car for the one he had lost to Tran. But, as always, it wasn't going smoothly.

He didn't even notice them at first, folded into a small, neat triangle on the very top of the clothes pile on the edge of his bed. It wasn't the first time Mia had done it, her own little passive-aggressive way of saying she didn't approve of his womanizing ways.

He knew she did it to the other guys too, but this was different. These were Rae's, and Vince suddenly went cold, wondering if Mia knew. If she did, he was screwed big time. She'd tell everyone, and Dom would probably break out of Lompoc just to beat the shit out of him.

He stood in the middle of his room, staring at them as though they were going to start screaming his guilty conscience for all the world to hear. He could see the ragged edge of the lace from when he'd torn them, so desperate to be inside her. He remembered the blood on the sheets, the wide-eyed look she'd given him the next morning, and felt sick at the thought of using her, hurting her the way he had.

He reached out and grabbed the panties, trying to ignore the soft, textured feel of them in his hands. He raised his arm, ready to through them into the trash, when he remembered the way she felt under him, how good he'd felt in that one drunken night.

He flopped down onto the bed, bouncing a little as he stared at them. He wanted to forget so bad. But at the same time, a part of him couldn't regret it, and didn't want to forget. And that just made things worse. He raised them to his face before he even knew what he was doing. Of course, all they smelled of after being washed was laundry detergent, but for some reason, he could still smell the light cinnamon-vanilla scent of her body wash, and feel the softness of her skin, the thickness of her black hair.

He couldn't deal with it. Part of him knew she wouldn't come back, that he had finally managed to do what Tony had always warned him his thoughtless comments would do – he'd driven her off.

Standing, he made his way over to the trash can, planning on throwing them out. But he stopped at his chest of drawers, and eyed the cheap wooden box on top. Before he could think it over too much, he placed the panties inside and closed the lid. He left them there, figuring he'd get rid of them later.

He never did. He kept them, not as some kind of lewd trophy, but because they were the only thing Rae had left behind. He'd never opened the box, never touched them again. Not once. But he knew they were there, taunting him, reminding him just how badly he'd fucked up.

* * *

Rae stood on the doorstep of her brother's apartment building, checking her appearance in the dark glass of the door. It had taken her a week to work up the courage to drive to Chicago, and another three days to actually get there. She kept having to stop to throw up.

She snuck into the building as another resident was leaving, and made her way up to his home. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, and a few seconds later she heard Vivian's softly accented voice calling out "Just a moment!"

There were a few thumps and muttered curses, then footsteps moving towards the door. Rae heard a sharply indrawn breath as Vivian saw her through the peephole, then the door spun quickly open.

"Raeka! What are you doing 'ere?" Vivian exclaimed, pulling her into a welcoming hug. "Not zat you are not welcome, of course, but Alex did not tell me you were coming!"

Rae smiled nervously. Despite not having spent a lot of time with Vivian, she got along well with her brother's girlfriend. "Um, Alex doesn't know yet. I…I had to get away for a while. I was hoping I could stay here, unless it's too much trouble-"

"Of course not! You can stay as long as you need, it is no problem!" the blonde woman frowned, ushering Rae inside the cozy apartment. "Sweet'art, what is wrong?"

"Is Alex here?" Rae asked quietly.

"No, he is still at work. I can call 'im if you want," she offered with a smile, leading Rae to the living room and gesturing for her to sit down.

"No! No, that's okay thanks. I just wondered…" Rae trailed off, fiddling distractedly with the cuff of her sweatshirt.

Vivian studied her for a moment, the Frenchwoman's clear blue eyes not missing a thing. "Rae, what 'appened? Alex said you had moved to San Francisco. Why did you leave L.A.?"

"L.A…When Dom went to prison, things changed. Things kind of fell apart. I need to get away." She took a deep breath, getting ready to tell the lie she'd been practicing since she'd realized she was pregnant. "I did something stupid in San Francisco. I met this guy…" She was having trouble finishing.

After a moment, Vivian asked hesitantly, "Did he 'urt you?"

"What? No! Nothing like that, it's just…" Time to do it, bite the bullet. At least she was getting some practice before she told her brother. "I'm pregnant."

Vivian blinked and sat back. Obviously she hadn't been expecting that. "The father, he is not involved?"

"No," I said firmly. She nodded acceptingly, but Rae knew my brother would push more, wanting to know who knocked up his eighteen-year-old sister.

"Do you know what you want to do?" she asked softly, her voice telling Rae she wouldn't judge, whatever her decision was.

"I'm keeping it. That's sort of why I'm here. I figured I should be near family."

Vivian frowned, and Rae knew what the woman was thinking – the Team was as much family as Alex. After a moment of thought, Vivian shrugged her slim shoulders. "There is more, I know, but I will not push. You will tell me when you are ready."

"Thanks," Rae smiled, "I wish Alex would say the same, but…"

"But you brother will 'ave a fit. Don't worry, I'll stop 'im if he goes too far," she smiled. "Men, eh? And they call _us_ emotional!"

* * *

Needless to say, Alex didn't take it well at first. Shouting, yelling, angry demands to know who was responsible. But eventually he calmed down, and as time went on, he had to admit that his sister was handling things remarkably well. Sometimes he forgot that she wasn't the traumatized thirteen-year-old he'd left at his Abuela's. It may have been only five years, but she had grown up in that time.

Rae had gotten a job in a restaurant, but had been quickly fired when the manager had found her vomiting in the bathroom for the third day in a row and put two and two together. She didn't desperately needed a job straight away, but she was determined to pay her way with Alex and Viv, and having a baby was not cheap. She was on her way to an interview for a job working in a clothing store when she was distracted by the pictures in the window of a tattoo parlor.

It was like that first time at Berto's when she was hypnotized by the images. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had walked inside. She was flipping through one of the flash books when a tall, skinny black guy with a bright red Mohawk sidled up to her, putting on the charm for what he thought was a potential customer.

"See anything you like?" he asked smiling. Rae did a double take as she realized the guy was older than he looked, and where she had originally though he was in his mid-twenties, she mentally added another ten years to her guestimate.

"I like the designs, but I don't want a tattoo, sorry," she said, closing the book, with an apologetic smile.

"What, too chicken?" he taunted, eyes twinkling with good humor.

"Nah, I'd just want my own design," she replied honestly.

"Oh yeah? You draw?" he asked with real interest.

Rae nodded.

"Got anything on you?"

She nodded again, digging out the battered sketchbook she always carried with her. He flipped though the pages, eyebrows raised in surprise. Some of the drawings were more traditional, landscapes and portraits, but the majority were designed specifically for tattoos. Most were rough pencil sketches, but a few she finished in color.

"You an art student?" he questioned, not taking his eyes of the book.

Her cheeks flamed. "Nope."

"You ever worked in a parlor before?" he continued, this time watching her closely.

"Not really. I used to hand out at one in L.A., but I never worked there. Berto – he's the guy that owned it – he bought designs from me once in a while, but I think he was just being nice," she rushed, suddenly feeling really embarrassed. This guy was a professional, and here she was waving her sketchbook.

"I doubt that kid, these are good," he murmured looking back at the book.

A tiny bubble of hope blossomed inside her. "I don't suppose you would be interested in buying some flash? I've got books full at home, and I could really use the cash."

He looked her a second, and frowned. "Why the big need for money? You in trouble? Drugs?"

Rae bristled, feeling insulted. "No way."

"Then why?" he asked, closing the book and handing in back to her.

She shoved it roughly back in her messenger bag, suddenly feeling really pissed off at all the questions she was being asked by this total stranger. "Not that it's any of you business, but I'm pregnant, and babies aren't cheap to look after. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a job interview to get to."

"Have you ever thought of working in a tattoo shop?" he asked as she was about to open the door. She froze. "'Cause if you've got more stuff like this, I'd love to have you as my apprentice."

She turned slowly. "Really?"

He smiled. "Really. Sort out some drawings, different styles, and come in anytime tomorrow."

She nodded, stunned, and walked out. She still went to the interview, but she found it hard to get enthusiastic about selling clothes when she'd been offered her dream job. The next day, she did as he asked, and brought in more drawings. He hired her on a trial basis, which quickly turned to a permanent job.

She got along well with the others that worked in the shop, and while it was nothing like what she had been a part of in L.A., she started to feel like she was moving on. As the months past and her stomach grew bigger, she even felt…happy.

But she couldn't help feeling painfully alone at certain times. Her first pre-natal appointment, when the baby kicked for the first time, when she was shopping for baby things, when she was trying to think up possible names. Is not that she missed Vince in a boyfriend-y way, because they had never been like that, but she had always thought that if she had kids she would have the father by her side for all the milestones.

And there was so much that she wanted to share with the rest of them. Vivian was great with the girly shopping, gushing over the cute little baby outfits, but Rae wanted nothing more than to share it all with Mia. Even Letty – and that was saying something.

Eventually she got used to it, and when she held her newborn daughter in her arms, she didn't regret a thing. Everyone at the shop was great, and they didn't mind Bella being there while she worked, and in the end the little girl became a sort of mascot.

Once Bella was sleeping through the night, Rae moved them into their own apartment. It wasn't much, but there were two bedrooms, so her daughter could have a real nursery. It still wasn't far from Alex and Viv's place, and they were happy to babysit whenever she needed it.

While she made lots of friends, here romantic life wasn't quite so prosperous. She was always upfront about Bella, letting her dates know that her daughter would always be her first priority. Most of the guys ran in the opposite direction as soon as they found out she was a teenage mother, and most of the rest couldn't handle coming in second.

The few that made past the first two hurdles still didn't last. It was nothing dramatic, just normal relationship ups and downs. That's not to say that Rae's feelings for Vince didn't cause the occasional problem, but she tried to put it all behind her. Eventually Kevin decided to open another shop, and put Rae in charge. By then she had a settled life.

A home. Not better than L.A., but different. She finally built her new life.

Then she got the call.


	17. New Friends

_**A/N: Thanks to **Jas120**, **AllieKat21**,**Villana Del Amor**, **2furious4u**,**AnimusPatronus**,** AngelRose82**, **Running-Wild22**, **Special2** and**vinlovedroolwish **(Vince nakedness soon, I promise).**_

**_Not much to say about this chapter, but I forgot to say last time that I have a new website (not just a blog) and it's got story pages and character bios, and I'm working on a playlist for Second Chances if anyone's interested._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Jesse seemed mildly surprised by the force of nature that was Bella, but didn't mind her bouncing around his room. If fact, he was the only one that could keep up with her rapid subject changes, having the attention span of a three-year-old himself. He seemed a little confused as to who Rome was, but accepted him with the sweetness Rae had always remembered. As for Rae herself, he welcomed her back with proverbially open arms, although she had to do all the hugging, since he was still pretty weak.

The doctor had said that even after he was well enough to leave the hospital, he'd have to stay in a wheelchair until he was stronger. Everyone was just happy that he was going to be okay. The only problem seemed to be that once the sedatives wore off, he started going a little stir-crazy. Rae loaned him her laptop, and they all made a effort to make sure someone was there to keep him company during visiting hours, but it was clear he could wait to get out of there.

Things got better at the Fort too, everyone seemed to be fitting easily back into their old places and it felt almost like old times when they set up a barbeque to welcome Vivian to L.A.. Dom was at his rightful place over the grill, chatting with Rome, and Mia was making potato salad, although it seemed to take longer with Brian helping her. Leon and Alex were playing a game of one-on-one while Letty, Rae and Vince sat sipping Corona's in the sunshine. Rae was keeping an eye on her daughter, who was currently giving Dom instructions on how best to cook the chicken. Her recipe involved chocolate, marshmallows and ice cream sprinkles.

"So how long 'till Viv gets here?" Letty asked Rae. "'cause in case you don't remember, these guys ain't exactly known for their patience, especially when it comes to food."

Rae smiled back. "Alex said she called from the road a half-hour ago. She should be hear soon. I don't think she'll mind if we start without her, just so long as we save some for her."

"Good luck with that," Vince grinned, taking a long swig from his bottle.

"I can't believe it's taking her four days to get here," Letty remarked.

"Viv's not a big driver, plus she hates my truck," Rae shrugged, referring to her '39 pickup that Vivian had graciously offered to drive out. "It took me three days to drive from San Francisco."

"What was it like there?" Letty asked, trying to make casual conversation out of that particular sore spot.

"'Frisco? Lonely," Rae admitted. "No real friends, crappy job, shitty apartment."

They were quiet for a moment, and Vince shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "How's the hotel?"

"S'okay. No roaches or anything, but the TV doesn't work," Rae shrugged.

"So if you're staying 'till Jesse's back on his feet again, are you going to stay at the hotel the whole time?" Letty asked.

Rae looked over at her daughter, who was now playing with Mia as Brian began carrying the food out to the table. "It depends on if I decide to stay," she said quietly.

Both Vince and Letty froze, looking at her in surprise. "Is that a possibility?" Letty asked hopefully.

Rae sighed, staring down at her beer. "Yeah. I'm at this point in my life where I could think about moving. I've been thinking about putting down a deposit on my own place, work is…flexible, and Bella's gonna be starting preschool soon. If I was ever going to move back, now would be the time. Before things get more complicated."

"Do you want to?" Vince asked, his tone not giving away his views on the prospect.

Rae still didn't look up, and she began picking at the edge of the label. "I have friends in Chicago, Alex and Viv…I've made a life for us."

"But…" Letty prompted.

Rae smiled at her cousin. "But this is home. It always has been. I'll see how things go, then decide."

"You'll stay," Letty nodded knowingly. Rae just smiled.

They sat back quietly for a few moments, and watched as Rome took over from Alex, who grabbed a beer and settled next to them. Vince cleared his throat, and sat up, looking like he wanted to say something. He scowled, and Alex shot a questioning look at Rae, who just raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

Vince cleared his throat again and finally spoke. "I, uh, wanted to say thanks for comin' through for us. Both of you."

Alex nodded slowly, and after blinking away her surprise, Rae gave Vince one of her rare mega-watt smiles. He stared at her a moment, it had been a long time since he'd seen her smile like that, and he realized he's missed it over the years. At his continued attention, a slight blush crept over her cheeks and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You never did answer my question," she remarked, and Vince shook his head, a confused look on his face. Rae grinned. "What on earth made you think jumping onto a sixteen-wheeler was a good idea?"

Vince shot Rae a glare and sat back, still not answering.

Rae turned to Letty, who was snickering away at Vince. "I could ask you the same thing. I mean, they're guys, they're _supposed_ to act like idiots," at this, Alex started coughing on his beer, "but what's your excuse? I though you had more sense!"

Letty paused a moment, thinking, then shrugged. "It sound like a good idea at the time."

"Yeah. Right." Rae rolled her eyes. "And it had nothing to do with a certain big, tall, shaved-headed guy who's name starts with a D and ends with OMINIC?"

"Shut up," Letty replied, sticking her tongue out at her younger cousin. Rae put her had to her chest, eyes wide, pretending to be wounded. Vince raised his bottle to his mouth, the edges of his lips twitching with amusement.

Alex watched them, shaking his head. He forgot how happy these people made his sister. He sat back and watched them all as they enjoyed the California sunshine. When Tony first offered Rae a place there, Alex had seen the home she'd found with them, and had known it was best for her to stay. It was the same after Tony died. But Alex had never figured out why she'd left, and his stubborn sister had refused to give him a straight answer. He'd let it go, since it hadn't made a difference to their lives in Chicago, but when they returned to L.A., he'd been expecting fireworks, hostility, even hatred to explain the rift.

But nothing. A little awkwardness, perhaps, but after three years of separate lives, that was understandable. He'd picked up on their anger at her leaving, but most of them seemed just as clueless as he was. When they had been working to get the Team of the hook, he and Brian had talked about it, but it was clear that the ex-cop knew even less about Rae's life in L.A. than Alex did.

Alex, however, was used to his sister's secretive ways. He had accepted that there was a large part of her life that he wasn't involved in. What bothered him was that no-one here seemed to know why she'd left either. There was something else going on with his little sister, and Alex hoped he'd still be in town when the whole story came out.

* * *

Rae kept sneaking sidelong looks at Vince as he slowly sipped his Corona. They way he had looked at her earlier had her insides fluttering and her mind chanting her new mantra: _notagainnotagainnotagain_. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the feelings she still had for Vince.

Rae wasn't the kind of girl who could just pick up a guy in a bar, but she wasn't the shy awkward girl she used to be. And in other circumstances, she might even go for it. Take the jump and ask him out. But she had to think of Bella. Things were already muddled with Rae being the only one who knew that Vince was the father. It wasn't a good idea to complicate things even more by blurring the line with him. It wasn't fair on Bella. Hell, it wasn't fair on Vince.

She didn't want him to know. Because then the secret would be out, and inevitably the others would find out. But she also knew that if she stayed in L.A., it would be wrong to keep lying. She didn't know how he would react if she _did_ tell him. Pissed, definitely. And angry. She just couldn't she Vince dealing with that kind of news.

In other words, she had no fucking clue what she was going to do. But she knew one thing she definitely _wasn't_going to do, and that was let Vince get under her skin. Again.

She watched Mia playing with Bella, and knew that Letty was right. She'd end up staying in L.A. She was about to go over and join them when she heard the loud and rather distressed sound of her treasured truck pulling up to the side of the house. Leaping up, she ran over to see her dust-covered red truck slowing to a stop, and Vivian stepping out and slamming the door behind her in exasperation.

"What did you do to my baby?" Rae asked, rushing over to the old Ford and running a hand over the warm hood. It wasn't the thin layer of dust that worried her, it was the clouds of black smoke that had been belching out of the exhaust.

"It is not my fault! It is a terrible automobile! I 'ate it!" Vivian huffed, tucking a strand of her think blonde hair behind her head.

"So you decided to KILL it?!" Rae moaned.

Vivian waved a hand dismissively. "It was not me. It just 'appened."

"Just 'appened?" Rae mimicked her sister-in-law's accent. "How the hell does this 'just 'appen'?"

"Outside of zee city, it starts coughing and eh…chug? Chugging. I think, zey are mechanics, zey can fix it. So I decided just to keep driving."

A collective groan went up from where the others had gathered. "What? Was zat wrong?" she asked, her brown eyes wide.

Alex walked up to his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a kiss. "It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure they'll all enjoy the challenge, right guys?"

The Team looked uncomfortable, looking at their feet. Vince muttered something under his breath, and Rae slapped his arm with the back of her hand, knowing that whatever he said was less than polite. "Uh…sure," he said, rubbing his arm.

They all stood in awkward silence for a moment, since everyone seemed to be waiting on Rae for the introductions, and she was busy staring dejectedly at her truck, and Alex was distracted by Viv. Luckily, Bella didn't seem to mind about formalities, wiggling in Mia's arms and shouting, "Aunt Vivie! Aunt Vivie!"

Laughing, Viv took the small girl into her arms, and Rae finally looked away from the truck. She introduced them one-by-one, and they all gave polite nods or waves in response. It took Rae a minute to realise why they were all watching Vivian with curiosity.

Alex and Rae hadn't spoken of her in specifics, and they obviously were not expecting the woman standing before them. She was about as far from the rest of the Team as it was possible to get.

Effortlessly elegant, Vivian was the kind of woman who looked like she was wearing designer clothes even when she wasn't. Tall and slender, with thick silky blond hair pinned in a French twist; she was dressed in perfectly fitting jeans and a perfectly white button-up fitted shirt with its three-quarter sleeves folded up to the elbows. She looked flawless and sophisticated, and only someone who knew her well would see the signs of her exhaustion in her tired eyes and mildly wrinkled clothes. To the rest of the Team, she looked more like a fashion model than a pastry chef.

Rae would be the first to admit that she was jealous of her sister-in-laws elegance, but Vivian had more going for her than just her looks, she was as smart as a whip, and was endlessly kind and unselfish. Rae watched in amusement as Vivian won the Team over, one by one.

By the time they were clearing up the dishes, Vivian was chatting away like she'd known them for years. When she and Alex disappeared after desert, the others commented on how nice she was, Rome joking that it was too bad that Alex found her first.

When the two lovebirds finally emerged from inside the house, they were greeted by catcalls at their dishevelled clothes and flushed faces.

"Yeah, yeah," Alex laughed off, looping his arm around his wife's waist. "Has everyone got a drink?"

There were a few cheers, especially from Leon and Vince, who were more than a couple bottles down by this point. In the end, the general consensus was yes.

"Then I'd like to make a toast. To old friends, and new, to Jesse getting better—"

"Hear, hear," Leon interrupted.

Alex grinned. "We'd also like to make an announcement." He paused, looking at Viv a moment before turning back to the rest of them. "I'm going to be a daddy!"

Despite not knowing the two long, the Team were full of congratulations, and Rae was ecstatic, hugging her brother and sister-in-law and gushing over how wonderful it was. As soon as they explained to Bella that it meant she was getting a little cousin, she was laughing and clapping her little hands like it was Christmas morning.

Alex couldn't stop grinning. Apparently, Viv had found out while he was in L.A., and had wanted to tell him in person. Rae knew they had decided a few months before to stop using birth control, so it wasn't a complete surprise, but still, the excitement was contagious.

* * *

They called it a night not long after, since it was way past Bella's bedtime, and Vivian was tired from her journey. After they left, Vince, Rome and Leon all but passed out, and Brian helped Mia put the few leftovers back in the fridge while Letty helped Dom clean up the rest of the trash.

They moved quietly for the most part, not awkwardly, just thoughtfully. Every so often one would look at the other; sometimes they shared a quiet smile. There was no flirtation, Dom knew he'd still be sleeping on the couch, but things were no longer tense between the two of them.

Just as Letty was about to go back inside, Dom grabbed her wrist lightly, his thumb stroking softly. "Tomorrow," he rumbled. "We should drive up the coast, just you and me. Go to that shrimp joint you love. We can talk."

Letty watched him for a moment, then turned her wrist in his large grasp, taking his hand. She looked at their intertwined fingers, then up at his face. She moved her hand from his, the other still holding the trash bag, and cupped his strong jaw.

"I'd like that," she whispered, pressing a soft, almost chaste kiss to his lips. "I'd like that a lot."


	18. Starting Over

_**A/N: Thanks to **AllieKat21**, **vinlovedroolwish **(soon!), **2furious4u**, **Running-Wild22**, **Straight Edge Queen**, **NejisDarkNyph**, **Trickster 707**, **Villana Del Amour **(love the evil laugh),** tanya2byour21**, and **meee18 **for their reviews! Also, big thanks for all the favs and alerts!**_

**_We're getting there..._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Letty watched Dom as he picked up their order, a loaded tray in each of his large hands. They'd been silent on the way up, thinking about what they wanted to say. She didn't want to get into another argument with him, but she was done backing down. They were going to lay all their cards on the table, and see where they stood. It was not going to be easy.

They ate it silence for a few moments, taking the edge off their hunger before Letty finally took the plunge and cleared her throat. "Before…you didn't treat me right," she held up her hand, "and I didn't stop you. I knew you were…" she swallowed hard, "I know you were cheating on me. You weren't exactly discreet about it, but I never called you on it. You pushed, and I didn't push back. Sure, I snarled at a few skanks," she smirked at the thought, "but I never told you how much it hurt me. So this is it. You have to know _if_ anything is going to stay between us, I won't take it any more."

He nodded, and she looked into his eyes, seeing the shame he felt in their brown depths. "I don't want anybody but you, Letty. I always felt that way, but I get it now, y'know?" He shook his head, as if he was having trouble speaking his mind. "I almost lost it all, Let. Not just you, but everyone, and it's made me realize just how screwed up I've got things."

He closed his eyes, trying to say it right. He knew this was his last chance with the woman he loved. He felt her hand touch his across the table, just briefly, but enough to show her silent support. Looking back up at her, he willed her to see the truth in his eyes. "I love you Letty. I swear to you, no matter what shit happens in the future, I'll never screw up like that again, with Team, or with you. I want to fix the past."

"That's not how it works, Dom," she said sadly. "You can't fix the past, it's done." He hung his head. So that was her answer. It was over. Then he felt her hand squeeze his again, and this time she didn't let go. "But maybe we could start over?"

He looked up at her, a slow smile spread across his face, and he flipped his hand over, holding hers. "I'd like that."

"You can take me out to dinner this weekend," she smiled, letting his hand rest in his, enjoying the feel of his calloused fingers moving slowly over her skin.

"Maybe we can go to a movie, just like our first date," he grinned teasingly.

"Dream on," she laughed, removing her hand and picking at her Cajun shrimp, smiling at the sudden light feeling she got, like everything was going to be okay.

They talked for a while, taking their time with their dinner. They mostly talked about the business, what they were going to have to do to keep it all running, stuff like that. By the time they were finished, the sun was setting over the ocean, lighting the sky in vivid pinks and oranges.

When they got to the car, Letty turned to Dom, her face solemn. "Dom, there's one more thing."

"What?" he asked, frowning. He thought they were okay, but—

"Let me drive back?"

He grinned and tossed her the keys. No one but Letty.

* * *

The Team had been working hard, getting the business back on track. They were also spending most of their free time juicing up their cars for their much anticipated return to the Races. Jesse was still cooped up in the hospital, but he'd been helping the Team with designs thanks to Rae's laptop. It was wonderful to see him so full of his old life and enthusiasm after weeks of watching him close to death in a hospital bed.

Mia was spending her time catching up with the books, trying to sort out their finances now that they wouldn't have the extra cash from the heists to tide them over. Since she was usually up to her nose in invoices and receipts in the back room, Rae had been working on the counter at the café, with Viv coming to help her during the lunchtime rush. Although Alex was helping with the legalities of the business, he and Viv would usually disappear after lunch – they were supposed to be on vacation after all.

The Team always came in for lunch, and it was amazing how much it felt like old times. Even with Alex and Viv disappearing to the storeroom like horny teenagers and Bella running around like a NOS-fuelled bundle of trouble, Rae felt like she'd never left.

Rae and Viv were just clearing up the last dishes from the lunchtime rush when the Team pulled up, still a few cars short. Everyone stopped what they were doing so that they could come and have lunch at the café with Mia, Rae, Viv and Bella. Letty and Brian were laughing at some crack Leon had made, while Dom and Vince were trying to look unmoved, failing as smiles twitched about their mouths.

"Hey, baby," Brian grinned, pecking Mia on the lips before sitting down at the table.

Rae and Vivian served up their meal, and then Rae went about fixing Ella up at the counter with her own lunch. Cleaning up the last of the dishes whilst keeping a close eye on her daughter. "So I was thinking we could all go to the beach this weekend, to that little spot down the coast we used to go to as kids," Rae mentioned as they all settled down to eat.

Her suggestion was meet with food-muffled grunts of approval and a few thumbs-up, as well as an enthusiastic "Beach!" from her daughter. Bella had been to the beach a thousand times before on Lake Michigan, but Rae always felt that every kid should get a chance to play in the ocean.

"That sounds like a great idea," Brian grinned.

"You just wanna see Mia in a bikini, cuz," Rome teased, causing everyone to laugh as Brian's cheeks tinged pink under Dom's glare.

Brian started arguing with Rome, and multiple discussions broke out as to what they should bring, what they should eat, and who would kick who's ass at beach football.

The first one finished eating, Vince brought his plate and empty soda can up to the counter where Rae was standing. "How'd it go today?" she asked with a smile as she cleared away his plate.

Vince shrugged noncommittally while he took the empty seat next to Ella. "We're gettin' there. Lots to catch up on," he replied. "This thing ain't helpin'," he growled, referring to his injured arm. While the deep cuts were healed, his physio had told him he could use the arm until the muscles were stronger unless he wanted to risk permanent damage. Vince had grumped and groaned, but so far he was sticking to it.

"Well, you guys have been working hard. With you all working all day you'll be caught up in no time," she replied, leaning on the counter in front of him.

He just nodded. "What are you doing this afternoon?" he asked, staring down at his hands.

She frowned. "Why, do you have another appointment?"

"No appointment," he said, then paused. Rae waited patiently, her curiosity piqued. She tried to ignore the slight sheen of sweat on his strong arms as he shifted in his seat. "I was gonna go to Berto's, see about getting this fixed," he said, referring to his scar-broken tattoo. "You said you might look for work in town, and I figure if anyone's gonna hire you, it'd be him." He shrugged. "Plus, he'd kill me if he found out you were back in town and I didn't bring you."

Rae grinned. "Hey Viv!" she called, causing the other woman to turn to her with a quizzical look. "Can you cover for me this afternoon? I want to go visit an old friend."

Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "Eez fine. Alex eez going to be working with Mia anyway. 'ave fun."

Rae looked back at Vince, catching his blue eyes. "I guess I'm free," she smiled.

"You want to go now?" he asked, already starting to stand.

"Yeah, just let me grab my keys and my kid," she replied. "See you guys back at the Fort for dinner, 'kay?" she called back as they made their way to her truck.

The ride there was a little awkward, mostly because the three of them were packed in the front cab, Ella wedged between the two grown-ups. Vince didn't know what to do with the squirming three-year-old, and tried to ignore her, but it was proving difficult since the kid had decided he was the one to talk to. Or at.

By the time the old red truck pulled in front of Berto's Pin Up Parlour, Vince was starting to get the hang of it. Making the right sounds of approval and disapproval at all the right points, and looking interested even when she had no fuckin' clue what she was talking about. At least he understood the bit about cartoons.

The truck doors opened with a groan, despite the oil Vince had put on the hinges when they'd fixed it back up after Vivian's little cross-country escapade. Vince lifted Ella out and held her horizontally under his good arm, and she start back up with the "I'm a birdie!" stuff again.

Rae stood for a moment, staring up at the building that had been her haven for so long. Doubt began to fill her. What if Berto was mad at her? What if he never wanted to see her again?

"You ready?" Vince asked, sensing her apprehension. She gave him a weak smile and nodded, squaring her shoulders with a deep breath and pushing through the door. They spotted Berto near the back, leaning over a big guy's neck, eyes down and hard at work.

"Can I help you?" a short, red-headed girl asked from behind the counter.

"Yeah, we're here to see Berto," Vince answered, watching as Rae fiddled nervously with the bottom of her t-shirt.

"Do you have an appointment?" she began, opening a ledger in front of her, but Berto interrupted her, glancing up as her talked.

"It's alright Amy. I'll be with you in just a sec Vi…Holy Fuckin' Shit!," he yelled his eyes doing a double-take on Rae. "Look what the Coyote dragged in!" The entire place went silent as everyone watched them. Some of the artists who had been there before she left looked as shocked to see her as Berto, everyone else just looked curious as he set down his machine and stood.

"Hey Berto," she said softly, with a shy smile.

"Get over here kid!" he grinned, already stepping towards her. Before she knew it she was wrapped in his beefy arms, having the life squeezed out of her. "Where the hell have you been? Look at you all inked up! Aw, jeez kid, you had us all worried, cuttin' out like that!"

She laughed. "Slow down, man, one question at a time!"

"Alright," he began, leading them to the worn out couch in the waiting area. "Then you can start by telling me who this cute little thing is," he said, winking at Ella, making her giggle from her position under Vince's arm.

"Well, that's Vince," Rae smirked at his scowl. "And the monster he caught is Bella, my daughter."

Vince set the kid down, and made sure she didn't get into trouble while her mom filled in Berto about leaving (the non-Vince version), hooking up with that prick in San Francisco, and moving to Chicago. She left out a few of the finer details as to why she came back, although Vince was willing to bet that Berto had heard it already. He didn't miss the way Berto's eye lit up with pride when she told him what she did for a living.

"So you're lookin' for work, then?" he asked with a grin.

"Only if you've got some goin'," she frowned. "I don't need charity."

"Ain't no charity, kid. We can always use more artists. I can't pay you a regular wage, but you'll get good commission. You got your own kit?" he asked.

"'course," she replied, with a 'who'd you think you're talking to' looked.

The kid started tugging on Rae's leg, and she took her daughter's hand and led her around the shop, pointing out a pretty flower here, or a scary dragon there. The little girl stared at the photos on the wall, her eyes wide in wonder.

"Remind you of anyone?" Berto chuckled at Vince. "So why are you here boy? Babysittin' again?" Berto shook his head before Vince could answer. "Man, it cut me up when you came in with her the first time, actin' like she was some pesky kid."

"She was!" Vince defended, confused.

Berto snorted. "She was fifteen! Practically a full-grown young woman! Lookin' at you like you're god's gift to the human race! And here's you, six years on and still oblivious to the way she looks at you."

Vince scowled. She didn't look at him like that. Did she?

"So why are you here?" Berto asked. Vince gestured at his arm. "Dammit Vince, why'd you have to wreck my shit!?" Berto exclaimed, grabbing his arm roughly.

"Can you fix it?" Vince grunted.

Berto laughed again. "You've got Rae hanging out at the Fort and you come all the way out here to get me to fix it? Rae, get over here!"

Rae came walked over quickly, leaving Ella chatting with the red-head. "Could you fix this?" Berto asked her.

She shrugged. "In theory, but the scar tissue might react badly, what with it being fresh. I'd recommend doing a small piece then wait 'till it heals up and see how it goes."

Berto nodded approvingly. "Good. Get started."

"You want _her_ to do it?" Vince asked in shock.

"Why not? Best way to see what she can do is to get her doing it." Berto shrugged.

"Why do I have to be the damn guinea pig?" Vince grumbled.

"'cause it's your fault she's here in the first place, and I don't like people wrecking my shit."

Vince looked at Rae, and she didn't seem too worried, so he just glowered. Rae grinned and ran out to her truck. Vince watched through the glass front as she opened the custom lock-box in the back bed of the truck, pulling out a professional looking metal case.

"Come on, let's get you set up," Berto said, slapping Vince on the back and leading him towards an empty chair. Vince sat down and watched while Rae unpacked her stuff, Ella at her side, watching but not touching. Berto let out a low whistle. "That's some nice kit you got there."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I toured the expos last year, I figured I should look the part."

Vince had no clue what they were talking about. He sat back, sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening, and let her do her job. Berto watched for a few minutes, but went off to finish up with his client. Rae leaned over his arm, her eyes fixed on her work, her hair tied back from her face. Ella was on the other side, watching. Vince tensed when her small hands grip his free arm as she leaned forwards to get a better look.

"Relax, V." Rae said soothingly. She was so close, he could smell her shampoo.

After a few minutes of silence, he felt the need to say something. "You're pretty good at this."

Rae paused the machine and flicked her eyes to his, a smile playing about her lips. "Thanks," she said softly, and he stared as her tongue darted out to wet her full lips. At that very moment, Berto let out a loud belly laugh at something his client had said, and Rae ducked her head back down, her cheeks looking a little pink.

Vince tipped his head back as the needle started buzzing again, and tried to remember all the reasons he had for not jumping Rae the first chance he had.

'cause at the moment, it was all he wanted to do.


	19. Reliving the Past

_**A/N: Thanks to **NejisDarkNymph**,** tanya2byour21**, **AllieKat21**, **Running-Wild22**, **2furious4u**, **Trickster 707**, **meee18**, **vinlovedroolwish**, **Straight Edge Queen**, **Rambles**, **Emma's Rose**,** MimeMoe**, and **gothicluver13** for their reviews! Thirteen for this last chapter, which is record breaker for me, and also my lucky number!**_

**_I am sooo sorry this chapter took so long to come about, but I hope it's worth it. Good news is, my muses for the Team seem to be talking to be again rather than just sulking, so I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon!_**

**_If anyone here is interested in The Covenant, Firefly or Supernatural, we could always use new members at the RPG's - details on my profile._**

**_As always, review and enjoy!_**

* * *

Vince had figured it out. It had taken him a while, but he'd finally figured out.

She was evil.

Rae was torturing him. On purpose. She _had_ to know what she was doing to him.

He watched her stretch out of the corner of his eye, and nearly groaned aloud at the smooth expanse of golden skin. She was lying back in the sun, her red board shorts and bikini top revealing _way_ more skin than she should be allowed.

At first, he'd thought a day at the beach with the Team sounded like a great idea, a chance to get away from the pressure of getting the garage back on track. But he was seriously regretting it now. He had been since the second she'd taken of her baggy sweatshirt and revealed her beachwear.

He'd been able to keep his distance most of the day, but when she'd left Bella to play with Mia and Vivian, and laid out her beach towel a few feet away from him, he hadn't been able to avoid her. They'd chatted for a few minutes and he'd tried not to stare as she settled herself and smoothed sun lotion over her bared flesh.

He couldn't seem to walk away though, so he had to satisfy him self with catch glimpses of her when she wasn't looking. Letting his eyes slide up and down those long, tan legs, he imaging them wrapped around his waist as he pounded into her, imagined her begging him to fuck her harder.

"Vince, will you do me?"

He just about feel of his chair when she spoke, and it took him a second to remember where they were. His dark eyes snapping to her face, he breathed a silent sigh of relief when he saw her eyes were still closed behind her sunglasses. But unless she'd suddenly turned psychic, he had no clue what she was talking about.

"Do what to you?" he asked, swallowing hard and praying she'd answer the way she'd been dreaming of only a few seconds ago.

"My back," she said, and he felt the expected twinge of disappointment. "I need to turn over in a sec, and I need someone to put lotion on my back so I don't burn." She shrugged, still not opening her eyes to the glare of the sun. "I don't want to bug the others while they're have fun. Plus, I'm comfy," she added with a fake pout.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him, despite the distracting thought of having an excuse to smooth his hands over the tanned expanse of her back.

"Fine, where's the goop?" he asked gruffly, trying to act like it was some chore rather than the only thing he wanted to be doing at that moment.

* * *

Armed with the lotion, he motioned for her to turn over as he kneeled at her side. She swallowed hard, starting to think this was a very bad idea. She hadn't even thought about it at first, it had just sounded like a simple request. But when she had stopped to think about it, about having those big hands, the ones she had dreamed of for all those years touching her all over.

Rolling over, she tried to pretend she didn't feel so exposed to his blue eyed gaze, that her position didn't make her feel like her ass was on display for him. She couldn't breathe.

She jumped when the cool lotion hit her back, escaping the tube with a rude squelch, distracting her somewhat from the buzzing tension. There was one painfully still moment when she thought he was going to chicken out, and leave her with a big glob of SPF on her back.

But then she felt his strong, work-calloused hands on her back, gently smoothing from the dip of her lower back up to the string tie of her bikini. After a moment's hesitation, his fingers dipped lightly beneath the string before retreating and then carrying on over her shoulders.

He massaged the lotion in, and she felt her whole body relax. She turned her head to the side with a happy sigh. He smoothed up and down her back, a slow and soothing rhythm the made her feel lax and boneless. After a few moments his hands disappeared and she heard the squelch of the bottle and then his hands began skimming over the backs of her tattooed arms.

Again his hands disappeared, and again she heard the sound of him getting more lotion to apply of her sun-warmed skin. As soon as she'd asked him to do it for her, she'd known what it would do to her. But since she was never going to get him to touch her like that in real life, she figured she might as well cheat by having a logical, valid reason for him to put his hands on her.

She couldn't deny that they'd had a few 'moments' recently, where their eyes would meet, and she'd suddenly flash back to the memory of what it felt like to have those big, calloused hands hold onto her hips as her moved deep inside her.

But she couldn't do that to Bella. Or Vince. Things were already complicated enough for them, and whenever she finally figured out how to tell Vince, she didn't want an extra layer of complication. And it wouldn't be hard. Vince seem to avoid touching her if he could help it, and anytime they were alone for more than a few minute, he got antsy and made some excuse to leave. Obviously he wanted nothing to do with her either.

"Moma! Moma! Look!" Bella shouted as she ran towards them. It was almost comical how fast Vince jumped away as the little girl ran up to them. Rae was feeling a tad flustered her self, her body still on fire from his touch.

Clearing her suddenly dry throat, she pasted on a smile and turned to see what her daughter was talking about. "What is it sweeti-OH!" she exclaimed as she came face to beady-eyed face with the crab Bella was holding by the back leg. "Well, that's, um...adorable," she tried diplomatically, shooting Vince a glare as he chuckled behind her. "Just be careful of it's claws, baby."

* * *

It seem like the moment Rae said the words, the crab decided to go for it. It managed to nip one of Bella's fingers before she dropped it, a look of hurt surprise on her little face before it scrunched up and big, fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

Vince quickly scooped up the scuttling crab, not wanting it near their toes, and strode the water's edge. With one big swing, he tossed the thing far into the ocean, and went back to check the kid wasn't missing a finger or something.

Rae was hugging the kid, wiping away the tears from her red face. "It's okay, baby. Vince made the evil crab go away, it won't hurt you now, it's alright," Rae murmured, checking the kid's small hand.

"She okay?" Vince asked gruffly, frowning.

Rae sighed. "Yeah, she's gonna be fine," she replied. "Aren't you, Munchkin? It's just a little red and sore, that's all."

The kid sniffled a little and nodded, then suddenly came barrelling at Vince, wrapping her little arms around his leg.

"Thank 'ou, Uncle Vince," she said, looking up at him with big, wet, brown eyes. He shifted uncomfortably. No-one had ever accused him of being good with kids, and this one had a habit of getting right in his face.

Oddly, it was Rae that saved him, even though she usually enjoyed watching him squirm. "Leave him be, Ella," she said softly. "And Vince isn't your uncle, remember? How 'bout we go get some ice cream, would that make your owie better?"

"Yay!"

And suddenly, everything was better. The tears stopped, and a beaming smile spread over the kid's face. And Vince was left staring after them, wondering why Rae looked so upset.

* * *

The evening had started out well enough. They guys had decided to build a ramp for when Jesse came back, since he'd be in a wheelchair for a while. Even Letty got bored as soon as the guys started arguing over what kind of wood they should use, and the girls had quickly decided to have a girl's night.

They'd all gotten dressed up, and Vivian was assigned as the designated driver. Rae had left Bella in Alex's care, reminding him that he was going to have one of his own to look after soon, so he should welcome the practise. He'd glared at her in turn, but she hadn't missed the happy grin tugging at his lips.

All the girls had dressed up, even Letty was wearing a new leather skirt and tank top. When they walked out the front door, they guys whistled, and more than a few jaws dropped. Rae didn't miss the way Vince's eyes skimmed her body, obviously appreciating her strappy red dress and black high heels. Brian spun Mia around, her white summer dress flowing behind her. He whispered something in her ear loud enough for the rest of them to hear, and Dom's jaw clenched, even though he kept his mouth wisely shut.

They packed into Viv's rental, complaining loudly until she pointed out that as designated driver, she'd be driving home in whoever's car they took. After that, none of them said a word against the silver sedan.

The plan was to hit a few clubs and bars, spend some quality time away from the testosterone. It didn't quite work out that way.

Vivian had to bail early, her 'morning' sickness rearing its head after the first club. So she dropped the girls off at a neighbourhood bar, and headed back to the hotel with the promise that they'd call one of the guys to come and pick them up.

Only it wasn't the girls that called the Fort a couple hours later, looking for a pickup. It was Hector. The girls had picked El Gato Negro to do their drinking, which was good, because the guys there mostly knew well enough to leave them alone.

But by the time Vince got there, the three of them were up on the bar dancing and singing 'D'Yer Maker' at the top of their lungs, and generally having a hoot.

"What the fuck?" Vince demanded as soon as he saw Hector. "Why the hell did you let them drink so much?"

"Hey, man, they ain't _that_ drunk. Well, Letty is, but she got into a tequila shot duel with my man Hernando," he grinned, waving at the big Latino guy passed out in the corner. "Girl can hold her liquor, that's for sure. Mia's a bit of a lightweight, and Rae ain't had that much, they're just havin' fun," he laughed, but backed away hands up in surrender at Vince's expression.

"Vince!" he heard Rae cheer from on top of the bar. "What're you doin' here?" she grinned. She seemed a little tipsy, but she wasn't slurring her words yet, so he figured Hector was telling the truth. He waved awkwardly at the girls, and spoke to Hector out of the side of his mouth.

"You grab Mia, I'll get Letty," Vince said grimly. Letty could be a handful at the best of times, and it was a testament to how smashed she was that she only put up a token struggle as he carried her on his back to the car, Hector following with a giggling Mia.

They got the two girls buckled in the back seat of his car, locking the doors behind them in case they tried to escape. "Thanks for callin' Hector," Vince said gruffly as he made his way back into to retrieve Rae.

"No problem, man," Hector grinned. "We're all one big dysfunctional, fucked-up family."

Vince laughed, but his face fell when he saw Rae standing near the bar, looking slightly peeved as some random guy tried to flirt with her. He moved forwards with balled fists and a glare, but Hector gave him a warning look from the corner.

Right. No trouble. He could handle that. Maybe.

He moved up behind Rae, sliding a hand around her waist to splay over her stomach, leaning down to speak into her ear. "You ready to go, babe?"

He was surprised when she instantly leaned back against him, kissing his bearded cheek with a smile. "Yup," she replied, ignoring the other guy completely, and for some reason that soothed Vince's temper more than fighting ever would have.

"Just let me say bye to Hector," she added, slipping out of his grasp and walking over to Hector's table. Vince couldn't help admire the way her hips moved under the soft red fabric of her dress.

"She your girl?" the other guy asked, a tinge of hope still in his voice.

"Yeah," Vince answered without thinking, glaring the other guy down before meeting Rae at the door.

"Come on," he added gruffly, following her out with a hand on the small of her back. "Let's get you girls home before someone pukes in my car."

He didn't need to worry, however, since Mia and Letty were already passed out in the backseat, Mia's head resting on Letty's shoulder at the older girl snored quietly. Rae sat quietly in the passenger seat, her hand out the window, enjoying the feel of the cool air rushing past.

"Thanks Vince," she said as they turned onto the street, slowing down as they approached the Fort.

He just grunted his reply. "Can you help me get the girls settled? I was the last one up."

"Sure," she said quietly as they pulled in.

They figured it would be better just to get the girls set up on the couches rather than have them wake up their respective boyfriends. Mia murmured in her sleep, groaning when Vince accidentally knocked her head lightly on the doorframe, Rae trying to stifle her giggle. Eventually they got both girls settled, Rae taking off their shoes and getting them comfortable while Vince found them some blankets.

"You want a drink?" he asked in the silence that followed.

"I wouldn't mind a soda, actually," she smiled, and they made their way into the small kitchen.

"I'll drive you back to your hotel if you want," he said quietly, handing her a can.

"Nah, I'd rather crash. I don't want Bella to see mommy tipsy," she laughed softly, sounding perfectly sober.

Shrugging, Vince grabbed himself a beer, figuring if he wasn't driving, he could have one to unwind. God knows he needed to with her around in that dress.

"You're a good ma," he said after a moment.

She smiled sadly at him. "I try to be, but it's hard sometimes, being on my own."

Vince felt his blood boil at her words. "If he ever shows up, I'll kill him," he growled.

"Who?" she asked, and puzzled frown marring her pretty face.

Vince reached out a hand to push back a stray curl from her face. "The guy who knocked you up. I'll kill him for making you go through all this alone." That wasn't the only reason he would kill the guy. Just the thought of some other man putting his greasy hands on _his_ Rae was enough to make him see red.

And for some reason, she found his threat hilarious. She laughed softly, shaking her head at him. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Nothing," she replied, sighing, the laughter still in her eyes.

He just shook his head. He would never understand women, and certainly not _this_ one. "Come on, you can crash in Jesse's room again. I'll get you something to sleep in," he said, his mind desperately trying to drift off to dirty places.

She nodded, grabbing some spare sheets before following him down to the basement. He handed her a clean t-shirt, and sat down to watch some TV as she changed.

* * *

As soon as she touched the old t-shirt, she knew it was his, but she didn't say anything, taking in silently and stepping into the small bathroom to change. When she slipped it on, the bottom resting mid-thigh, she took a moment to breath deep, his unique scent still clinging to the fabric despite the strong smell of detergent.

Leaving on only her red lace thong, she folded her clothes and set them down in Jesse's room before joining him on the sofa. She was aware of his gaze every step of the way, but every time she looked over at him, his eyes were solidly fixed on the screen.

Sitting down next to him, she pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned slightly against his shoulder. She knew she was playing with fire, but the slight buzz of alcohol in her system was taking the edge off of all her worries, and suddenly she couldn't think of a single reason _not _to be alone with him.

Wanting to fill the awkward silence, the searched for something to say. "How's your arm doing?" she asked, referring to the tattoo she'd fixed for him.

"Fine, I guess," was his grumbled reply.

"Lemme see," she demanded, and instead of checking it like a professional, she automatically straddled his lap and pulled up his sleeve, leaning close to see in the dim light. "Looks good," she declared, rolling his sleeve back down.

She didn't move from his lap.

She looked into his eyes for a while, wondering at the darkness in their blue depths. "Thanks for loaning me the t-shirt," she murmured, the warmth from his hands melting into her where they tentatively rested on her hips.

"Not a problem," he rumbled, his voice low. "Although I have to say, it looks better on you."

"It looks even better _off_ me," came her smart-assed reply, slipping out before she'd even thought about what she'd just said.

His eyes widened slightly. "I bet," he whispered, wetting his lips unconsciously.

Her eyes tracked the movement in fascination, and suddenly they were crashing together, lips kissing with bruising force, her fingers tunnelling in his thick brown hair as his big hands gripped her bare ass, pulling her closer. She could feel his erection pressing against her and she groaned, her hips bucking automatically, wanting to feel him inside her again.

His hands slid up under the shirt, his calloused fingers brushing over the bare skin of her back before pulling the fabric off completely. She now sat in his lap in nothing but a red scrap of lace, and she couldn't have cared less.

His head dipped down, his bearded mouth kissing along her neck and collarbone until he could capture one tight little nipple in his hot mouth. The feeling was heady, and she arched back, offering herself to him freely.

He growled against her skin and suddenly she was being lifted into the air, he legs wrapping around his hips automatically as he carried her into his room. Slamming the door shut with his foot, he set her on her middle of his bed, kicking off his boots before blanketing her body with his.

His lips were everywhere, and while she tried to give as much as she got, she always felt behind. Not that she was complaining. His mouth, his tongue, his hands, all worshipped her body, tearing off her panties with ease – yet again.

She bucked of the bed as he sank two thick, talented fingers inside her, still feasting on her breasts. She tugged frantically at his clothes until he final got the message, pulling them off furiously, his lust-filled eyes never leaving her naked, panting body for a second.

Climbing back onto the bed, Vince barked out a surprised laugh when she flipped him over onto his back and straddled him once again, her dripping pussy rubbing over his hard length. He may have been her first all those years ago, but she'd learned a few tricks since then, and she fully intended to show him each and every one.

She took her time kissing him slowly and deeply, her hips moving teasingly against him. She briefly debated whether she wanted to taste him first, but decided that she couldn't wait any longer to have him inside her again. After all, it had been more than three, _long_ years. And she could always do it later.

Rising up, she reached down between them and stroked him before positioning herself over him. In one fluid motion she sat down, impaling herself with a moan, her head tipped back in ecstasy. "God…Vince…"

His heads were on her hips as she began to ride him hard, but soon moved to cup her breasts, his eyes gazing up at her full of passion and heat. She felt her pleasure build, and she tilted her hips grinding her clit against his pubic bone sending her soaring over the edge.

Before she could even gasp out his name again, he flipped her onto her back and began pounding into her hard, his hips moving with such force that he had her gasping with each thrust. This…this was what she missed. No matter how much she liked other guys they _never_ made her feel as utterly…possessed, cared for, _needed_ as Vince did, all the while letting her know with every growl and every thrust just how much he wanted her.

She could only hold on as he moved within her, and she had to bite hard on the corded skin of his neck to silence her screams as she exploded for a second time, feeling him join her with a groan.

Just like their first time, he was still hard inside her. And just like the first time, she knew they were far from over…


	20. Morning Light

_**A/N: Thanks to **2furious4u**, **gothicluver13**, **Running-Wild22 **(Hang in there!), **MimeMoe**, **Ms. Lori Reznor**, **AllieKat21**, **Villana Del Amor **(As you wish...), **Straight Edge Queen**, **Trickster 707**, **tanya2byour21**, **My-Edward-1992**, **tar heels superstar**, **everfaraway **(Mine!), **LovingBlackParadise **and ****for their reviews! 15 for one chapter, a new personal record...yay!**_

**_So I know it's been a while again. I bring good news and bad news. Good new is, along with this, I have the next two (at least) chapters written! Bad news is, it's all written on paper in my tiny messy writing, and I fucked up my wrist, so my typing is VERY slow. However, I will persevere!_**

**_I can guarantee you that the moment you've all been waiting for will be in the next 1 or 2 chapters, because I've already written it. I'll try not to make you wait too long._**

**_Interesting bit o trivia: I wrote this on vacation, which was a whopper this year. These next couple of chapters were written in: Edinburgh, Paris airport, Chicago, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, San Francisco (where I hurt my wrist) and Amsterdam airport. Fun, huh?_**

**_As always, Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Rae woke slowly, warm and sated, and snuggled closer to the warmth at her side, giving a small hum of contentment. A strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her deeper into the warmth as it's fingers played over the skin of her bare shoulder.

"Mornin'," a sleepy voice rumbled, the low vibrations under her head shooting right to her core. She froze in realization at the sound.

Slowly she sat up, clutching at the sheets as the pooled around her waist. A pair of intense blue eyes watched her closely, waiting for her reaction.

"Vince, did we…?" she trailed off, heart thumping hard in her chest. She already knew the answer, the feel of those large, talented hands all too fresh in her mind.

"Cut it out, Rae. You know exactly what happened," he replied evenly, not moving from where he was propped against the headboard, his wide, bare chest above the sheets. He'd obviously been awake for a while, his eyes clear of sleep.

Rae blushed when she realized she must have been sprawled across him, her head pillowed on his chest. She closed her eyes in defeat, and tried to gather her thoughts.

She shifted to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Last night," Vince began, taking a deep breath.

"I know. It was a mistake. A huge, ginormous mistake," she finished for him.

There was a moment of silence, and Rae could feel his eyes on her bare back. She didn't dare turn around to meet his gaze.

"Actually, I was going to say last night was amazing," he growled, sounding a tad irritated.

Rae spun around in surprise at his words. She had been expecting a repeat of last time's outrage…not this. He was looking at her intently. There was anger in his eyes, but also something…_softer_. Acceptance? Intrigue? Resignation?

"I've wanted you since you got back," he said frankly. "I'm glad it happened."

She stared in shock before jumping up, her eyes blazing.

"Nonono! You don't get to do this! YOU told ME to get out the first time, you don't get to change your mind!"

Uncomfortable shame flashed on Vince's face as he shifted to stand.

"The first time…" he paused, looking uncertain. Rae had never seen him like this, it was freaking her out. "You were so young and…and a virgin. I felt like some creep taking advantage of you and—"

_SMACK!_

There. That was better. Angry Vince, she could deal with.

"What. The. Fuck. was that for?!" he growled, stepping towards her, his naked body tight with anger, his hand massaging the reddening mark on his cheek.

"You're an idiot, Vincent Martelli! You don't get to change your mind and expect me to just fall in your lap!" she snapped, taking a step back and hitting the wall.

"Sweetheart," he growled, planting a hand on either side of her head and crowding against her. "You already did," he grinned, none-too-pleasantly, nodding toward the rumpled bed beside them.

"That's my point, Vince," she replied, trying to ignore the heat of his body so close to her. "Last night shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake. One I'm not gonna make for a third time. Just leave it be."

"You can't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself," he rumbled, licking his lips.

Something jumped low in her stomach. She had to stop this soon. She considered telling him then and there, but she was mad, and it didn't seem the best way to break the news.

"I'm not saying I didn't, V. But I have things to think about. I can't just have guys popping in and out of my life, it's not fair on Bella. How many guys do you think stick around after they find out I have a three-year-old daughter? And the ones that _do_ stay only hang around long enough to realize that she will always come first."

"What would happen if we carried this…_whatever_…on? Eventually, it wouldn't work out, and we'd still have to see each other everyday. Can you honestly see that working? I'm finally back and I don't want Ella to lose the love of the Team just because I didn't know when things were just too damn complicated," she replied in a rush, taking a big, deep breath as she finished.

Vince looked thoughtful, like he had actually listened to what she had said, but he still had that stubborn lock in his jaw. As he opened his mouth to respond, the sound of running water came from above, and Rae realized they weren't the only ones up.

"Shitshitshitshit," she muttered, pushing past Vince and rushing though the room to gather up her scattered clothes, then running to the downstairs bathroom.

* * *

Vince watched as she dashed through the room, watching unabashedly as the sheets slipped around her revealing little flashes of skin. He just leaned against the wall and watched as she rushed out of his room, the basement shower sounding a few moments later.

He frowned. He'd been wanting last night to happen since she'd arrived back in town, and he wasn't about to regret it now.

And she was so fuckin' _sexy_. He'd almost forgotten.

He didn't understand her irrational reaction, at least not at first. He didn't pretend to know what it was like to have a kid, but he knew that you didn't avoid living just because things might not work out right. It's not like he was proposing or anything, just trying to have a little fun.

Tossing on some clothes, he pulled on a t-shirt instead of his usual vests to cover the scratches and bite marks on his shoulders. Pausing in thought for a second, he grabbed a pair of clean running shorts and another t-shirt.

He quietly opened the bathroom door, a wave of steam billowing out at his as he moved into the room. He took a moment to admire the smooth dip of her back and the smooth curve of her ass. Under the hot spray of the shower she didn't hear him enter, and he kept quiet, gathering her clothes, but leaving her bra.

He placed his folded clothes on the closed toilet seat and took one last look at her, promising himself it wouldn't be the last time her saw her naked.

* * *

Rae had stared blankly at the folded clothes before angrily tugging them on. She didn't know what game he was trying to play, but she didn't like it.

She couldn't believe she made such a colossal mistake once again. At least she was on the pill now. She couldn't blame anything else this time. She wasn't some love-struck naïve kid, and he wasn't drunk and mad. They had been two consenting adults who knew exactly what they were doing.

She'd convinced herself she was over him, now she had to quit lying to herself.

When Rae came upstairs, Vince was already sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal. Letty and Mia were across from him nursing steaming cups of coffee as Brian cooked breakfast and Rome told him what he was doing wrong. It was Leon's turn to open up early, and as far as he knew, Dom was still asleep upstairs.

There was a clatter of pans from the kitchen followed but raucous laughter, and Vince grinned into his Lucky Charms as the two girls flinched at the sound.

"Rough night?" he asked them, receiving two death glares in return. Their attention shifted as Rae walked in wearing his clothes. Letty raised an eyebrow in question.

"What? You think I'm wearing my little red dress to breakfast?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she took a seat as far away from Vince as possible.

Mia just shrugged and sipped her brew, but Letty's eyes were wide with surprise. "I didn't know you were here," she remarked.

"You two were pretty wasted," Vince smirked. "She helped me get you home last night." He grinned at their blushes. "She crashed in Jesse's room again," he lied.

She shot him a surprised look, apparently surprised that he wasn't going to kiss and tell.

"Oh," Letty sighed. "Were we really that bad?"

"Well, you got into a drinking contest with on of Hector's grew at El Gato Negro – which you won – and Hector called here when the three of you started dancing on the bar," he replied, enjoying their embarrassment.

Three sets of blushing cheeks greeted him, although Letty looked rather smug at having won the drinking contest.

Rae stood suddenly, her chair screeching back on the hardwood floors. "Well, uh…I better get back to the hotel if I wanna be ready for this afternoon," she said. "We're still on, right?" she asked, biting her lip in excitement.

For the first time they were all being allowed to go visit Jesse at once, and the Doc wanted to talk to them about the possibility of him coming home. They all nodded, and the girls looked happy for the first time all morning. Vince sometimes forgot that Mia and Rae were Jesse's friends long before he joined the Team.

"I'll give you a lift back," he said, standing with a stretch.

Rae looked mildly panicked, but the others two didn't notice, still looking pensively into their cups. He knew what she was thinking. She didn't want to be alone with him, but she needed a ride. If she refused his offer, but asked on of the others, they'd know something was up between them, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out what.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Catcha later, girls. Tell the guys bye for me."

* * *

Vince was already heading out as the other two called their goodbyes, as she rushed to catch up with him. She wouldn't meet him eyes as she slid into the passenger seat of his Maxima. She pulled her belt on silently, looking out of her window as she waited for him to start the car.

She heard the click of his belt, and then she felt his eyes on her but she refused to turn. After a moment he left out a gusty sigh and the engine roared to life. He drove quickly towards her hotel, and she wished she had the nerve to reach over and switch on the radio, but she didn't dare move. She they drove in heavy silence.

Her body hummed from his closeness and she couldn't stop her mind drifting over the night before, the feel of his body over hers, the touch of his rough fingers on her sweat-slicked skin. She thought she had washed the scent of his off of her skin, but trapped in the car with him, wearing his clothes, it was all around her. It seeped into her bones, relaxing her and exciting her at the same time.

She had to get out of that car.

As soon as the car stopped outside she slipped off her seatbelt and reached for the handle, but before her fingers could touch the black plastic he gripped her arm and tugged her to him roughly.

She ended up sprawled awkwardly over the gearshift and e-brake. But there was nothing awkward about the hot press of his mouth on hers as he kissed her hard. Her tenuous control shattered at the feeling, her hand curling into his thick hair and her tongue dueling with his. His powerful arms banded around her, pulling her against his hard chest, and she let out a small whimper of pleasure.

It stopped as soon as it started, and Rae flopped back in her seat, breathing deeply as her heart pounded in her chest. Vince was staring straight ahead, his knuckles white as her gripping the steering wheel, and a muscle was jawing in his clenched jaw.

"Dammit, Vince," she cursed. Fumbling with the handle and scrambling out of the car, she nearly missed his growled response.

"We're not finished."

She stood in shock as he peeled away and didn't move until he'd disappeared around the block in a squeal of tires.

She was so screwed.


	21. Connections

_**A/N: Thanks to **AllieKat21** (thanks), **Trikster 707**,** everfaraway **(cause he's MINE!), **cari88 **(welcome, and thanks!), and** 2furious4u** for their reviews! Big thanks to all who have put me on alerts and favs.**_

**_Wrist is better...mostly. Still taking it easy. If any of you are into the movie Push or just psychic powers, I've started an RPG. Randomness...Oh, and The Jerk (a houseguest from hell) was staying with me for a couple weeks, really messed up my life, but he's gone now. WOOT!_**

**_Now...here is what I promised you...what you've all been waiting (not) so patiently for..._**

**_Review & Enjoy!_**

* * *

Rae adjusted Bella against her hips, pushing her way through the double doors to Jesse's ward. They'd become familiar with the various nurses, and as soon as they made it to the nurses station they were waylaid by besotted hospital staff.

Rae was under no delusions as to who they were truly interested in, and just stood back with a rueful grin as Bella smiled and giggled at all the attention. When they were finally free of their clutches they made their way the short distance towards Jesse's room.

Brian was sitting outside on a bench, his elbows resting on his knees. Mia was further down the hall, glaring at the candy machine. Bella started wriggling in her arms, and the second Rae set her down, she ran off towards Mia, not even slowing as she passed Brian.

"MiaMiaMia!" she cried gleefully, causing Mia to scoop her up with a grin.

She waved at Rae and pointed questioningly between Ella and the machine. Rae sighed, looking at her daughter's wide eyes, her little fingers flexing as she grasped for the trapped candy.

Rae held up one finger and Mia nodded, her lips twitching in amusement. Ella laughed and clapped her hands as the candy slowly dropped out of the machine, bouncing in excitement.

Shaking her head, Rae flopped down next to Brian. "What's up?" she asked the ex-cop.

"Doc's in there with the others. We got here late, so we figured we wouldn't interrupt. Rome's watching the store," he grinned. "I think it might be good news."

"Awesome! Wait, late? Vince said two-thirty…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, that's what he told us too, but I guess he got it wrong," he chuckled. "It's our own fault for not checking."

"True," she sighed, sitting back and watching as Mia walked Ella around the ward.

She didn't want to think about Vince right now, she was having a hard enough time not freaking out over the fact that she was going to be seeing him in a few minute. But apparently Brian didn't feel the same way.

"He's been stomping around all morning. Honestly, he's been worse than Letty with her hangover. Did you two argue or something?" he asked nonchalantly, but Rae could feel his sharp eyes watching her.

"Why would you think V.'s mood has anything to do with me?" she asked back, swallowing down her paranoia.

"Because when I saw him before breakfast, he was fine, happy eve, which is scary all by itself. But when he came back from dropping you off, he was slamming doors and glowering like nobody's business," he replied, his eyes fixed on Mia and Ella who were now chatting with another nurse.

Rae just gave a shrug. "We hardly talked at all. We certainly didn't argue." She said truthfully, although they'd done a lot more, and she _did_ know why he was pissed.

Brian was silent for a moment. "You when you and Mia came back to find Vince and I fighting? Right before I went to Miami?" he asked, and she nodded with a frown. "Did he ever tell you _why_ we were fighting, what it was I said that set him off?"

She shook her head. "He needs a reason to fight? That's new," she joked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Brian laughed, sitting back against the wall. "Apparently. I just observed that maybe the reason he was hung up on Mia was because he _really_ had a thing for you."

Rae blinked. Mia had said pretty much the same thing to her, but she was surprised Vince had such a violent reaction to the idea.

Well, sort of. It was _Vince,_ after all.

Brian's eyes were still watching the girls laughing with the nurse, chocolate around the corners of Ella's little mouth. Good thing she brought wet-wipes. He took a deep breath.

"Y'know, when she glares, she looks just like him. The expression more than anything."

Rae froze.

"You really should tell him. We've never seen eye-to-eye, but I know he's a good guy. Loyal to a fault. He deserves to know," he finished softly.

His voice was sympathetic and understanding, and Rae just couldn't keep denying it anymore. She needed to tell someone the secret she'd been keeping for three years.

"I want to. But I never find the right time," she sighed. "How did you know? Did you tell Mia?" she frowned.

He laughed a little and shook his head. "I love the woman, but there's no way she'd be able to keep quiet, and I figured it was something he should hear from you," Brian shrugged. "As for the rest, I don't know, really. I guess when you didn't deny it," he smiled. "Maybe it just took someone who didn't know either of you back then. I could see there was something between the two of you, and the timing just fit. Plus, the kid can glare."

Rae laughed, at that, feeling a little better, even though her troubles were still there. "That she does. When she hits puberty, we're all doomed."

"Oh shit," Brian laughed, "I never thought of that."

"Thought of what?" Mia asked as she led Ella back by one sticky hand.

Luckily she seemed to have missed the rest of their conversation. Rae dug out her wet-wipes, handing one to a grateful Mia before attacking her daughter.

"We were just talking about what Ella will be like as a teenager," Brain answered, smiling up at Mia.

"Well, if she's anything like her mother, she'll be a surly little thing," Mia grinned, and Rae stuck out her tongue. "We were all pretty bad, I guess," Mia shrugged.

"Oh man, remember Jesse's mullet?" Rae asked, laughing hard. "What was if he used to say?" she grinned.

"Business in the front, party in the back!" they chorused in stoner-dude voices, collapsing into laughter.

"Are there pictures?" Brian asked. "Man, I gotta see that…"

They chatted for a while. Rae and Mia trying to out do each other with funny stories from their teenaged years. A few minutes later, they all looked up as the door opened and Dom came out, clapping one big hand on the doc's shoulder.

"Now, don't hesitate to call if you have any more questions, Mr. Toretto. And I'll see you all on Friday," the older man said, giving then all a polite nod before making his way back to wherever Doctors hid when they weren't doctoring.

"Good news," Dom rumbled, ushering them into the room. "Doc says he'll be released on Friday. He'll have to use a chair 'till the physio kicks in, but we get to take him home."

"You make me sound like a puppy," Jesse complained from where he was propped up in his bed.

"Jesse Friend!" Bella yelled, practically jumping out of Rae's arms onto the bed.

Jesse grinned, and started playing peek-a-boo with her as Dom filled them in on specifics. Rae barely heard, she could feel his eyes on her from where he was sprawled in a chair next to the bed.

"Sorry we were late, Jess," Mia said as she leaned over to hug him. "_Someone_ told us the wrong time to get here," she apologized, shooting Vince a playful glare. He just grunted.

They all settled down around the room, Rae sitting as far from Vince as possible, which unfortunately meant she ended up sitting straight across from him. Industriously trying to avoid his gaze, she watched her daughter run happily around between them all.

They laughed and chatted and made plans for a Team BBQ on Friday night. They wanted to have a bigger party for all their friends, but they'd wait a couple days to give Jesse time to settle down.

Rae's plan of avoiding Vince was foiled when Ella choose to pull her kid-sized plastic chair over next to him with great fuss, and proceeded to show him every toy in her little pink backpack. Rae did get satisfaction from the fact that he looked slightly panicked and it distracted him enough that she got a few moments of peace before the nurse popped in to tell them visiting hours were nearly over.

"I'm glad you're back Rae," Jesse whispered as she leaned over to hug him. She beamed at him and waved with Ella as they were all hustled out but the nurse.

"Rae…" she heard Vince begin softly from behind her.

Ignoring him, she walked briskly to catch up with the others. "I have to get going, I'm supposed to meet up with Viv and Alex for dinner, and Ella needs a nap before then. Is there anything you want me to bring to the party?" she asked, smiling at Mia.

"Not really…But I could use a hand with the cooking?" she replied hopefully.

"No problemo," Rae grinned before making her exit.

After Jesse's party. She'd tell him then. She wanted to make sure Jess had a good happy homecoming before she told Vince, and fucked everything up again.

* * *

"This is delicious," Jesse groaned again, and Mia laughed, her dark eyes twinkling.

"I'd take that as a compliment if you hadn't been eating hospital food for weeks," she grinned back, and Vince let out a low chuckle as Jesse gave a cheeky grin and grabbed another plateful of hotdogs and chicken.

This was how it should be. Dom at the head of the table, all the Team seated around, with big plates of food in the center. Viv and Alex fitted right in already, and Jesse had tried explaining the basic engine components to Vivian, who had remained oblivious, but at the same time praising Jesse's knowledge and giving him a little ego boost. The woman had a way of genuinely charming everybody, and Vince had even found himself smiling a time or two.

He'd slid into his seat at the last second, ensuring himself a place next to Rae. She was sitting with the kid on her lap, helping her daughter eat in between taking her own bites of food.

Viv and Alex had offered to babysit and let them have a grown-ups BBQ, but as soon as Jesse heard the plan he made a fuss. Apparently he'd taken to the kid as much as she had to 'Uncle Jesse', and wanted her there too.

Leon and Brian were arguing over car parts, and Rome was relaying the story of how he'd come to be in LA to Jesse, who was listening, rapt. Dom and Letty were shooting each other heated glances, and he was betting their whole second chance thing was going well.

He'd been trying to get time alone with Rae since their night together, but she was very good at avoiding him. He wasn't going to let her get away a second time, and he wasn't going to let her stop living life just because things might go wrong. Not when she still kissed like _that_.

He'd watched her when he couldn't talk to her, and he'd come to a few realizations. One being that their night together on her eighteenth had been no chance of fate. Not that she's planned it or anything, just that he finally realized that she'd had a full-blown crush on him. All the times he'd seen her watching him out of the corner of her eye, all the times she'd ended up helping him…she'd been trying to get closer to him.

And the idiot that he was, he had never really seen it for what it was. But now he did. And she may have changed, but her feelings hadn't, and that was just fine by him. He'd also noticed the distance she'd put between them and not just the physical avoidance.

She kept the kid close by when he was around, limiting what he could say or do, using her as a shield. Almost like she didn't trust herself alone with him. Either way, he was done playing her games.

He dodged a forkful of potato salad as the kid got a little over excited. "Sorr 'ncle Viss," she said around a mouthful, turning those big brown eyes on him.

He shrugged, not particularly bothered. Leon was worse when he got carried away. It wasn't the kid that pissed him off. It was what her mother said next.

"I've told you already Sweetie, Vince isn't your uncle."

Vince clenched his fists. He didn't particularly care what the kid called him, but Rae let her call all the others Uncle, even Bri and Rome once or twice, but not him. Yet another barrier she'd put up, and he'd had enough.

"Rae, I need to talk to you. Now," he growled. The others blink in surprise as he stood suddenly. He scooped up the kid and dumped her carefully in Mia's lap as the little girl "Wheeee!"'d. Grabbing Rae, he practically dragged her around the side of the house 'till they were in the front drive and out of earshot of the others.

"Vince what the hell?!" Rae snapped as she tugged her hand free of his grip.

"Why do you do that?" he demanded, pointing back toward the table.

"What? You're not her uncle, Vince. Get over it!" Something flickered in her eyes as she replied, and alarms sounded in his head. She was hiding something.

"Bullshit. This is you avoiding another connection between us and you know it!" he countered, his voice raising more.

She laughed bitterly. "Trust me, I've got more connections to you than I know how to handle."

His blood boiled. "Don't dare say you didn't have fun last week. I did. You're just chicken to take a chance!"

"Take a chance?" she scoffed. "I took a chance on you three years ago and you broke my heart! _You_ told _me_ to get out, Vince!"

"And obviously you weren't _too_ upset. After all, you were spreading your legs for some other guys as soon as you hit the next tow—"

Once again she blindsided him, knocking him on his ass with her strong right. She stood over him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes flashing, her chest rising as falling with each ragged breath.

God, she was beautiful.

"I never, Vince! For years, it was only—" she trailed off, her eyes widening in shock as she realized what she had just said.

Vince blinked, his stunned mind still trying to start working again.

"Oh god…" a voice gasped from behind her, and his head snapped up to find the others watching them from where curiosity had drawn them at Rae and Vince's raised voices.

Mia was staring between the two of them like she'd just figured out something important, and the others looked like they were only a few seconds behind.

Before Vince could open his mouth to ask, Rae had spun around and dashed to her car, peeling off with a squeal of tires. Before he even thought about what he was doing, he was in his car and racing behind her.

* * *

**_A/N: Heehee. So technically...Rae told, in true Rae & Vince fashion. What? You thought they were going to sit down and have a nice, calm, adult discussion? WTF have you been reading?!_**


	22. Daddy's Girl

_**A/N: Thanks to** Emma Rose23**,** **,** Trickster 707 **(I GIVE YOU THE NEXT!),** Holliday Girl**, **Violet201**,** AllieKat21**,** cari88**,** Running-Wild22 **( :D ),** LovingBlackParadise**,** tanya2byour21**,** 2furious4u **(Thanks ;) ),** Lou14**,** wrestlenascargirl **(Yeah, Vince...*drools*) and** ..Seraphina.x. **for their reviews!**_

**_Again..yeesh. So sorry. I hope this chapter is worth the wait, and thank you all so much for bearing with me._**

**_Review and Enjoy!_**

* * *

Alex looked between his sister's guilty face and Vince lying on the grass. He'd sworn the day he found out she was pregnant that he'd kill the prick responsible, but never thought it would be one of the guy's he'd trusted to protect her. He barely noticed as she ran off, all his attention was focused on one man.

"You goddamn sonovabitch," he roared, getting ready to swing. He felt a hand on his arm and half expected Dom to becoming to Vince's rescue, but instead he looked down into his wife's brown eyes.

"Please Alex, don't do it," she begged, and he paused, catching his breath and looking around.

Mia was standing in shock, an oblivious Ella in her arms. Brain was holding Dom back, barely, and the big guy looked as furious with Vince as Alex felt. Letty was shaking her head, looking utterly confused, like she couldn't believe it.

"Let it go, Dom!" Brian yelled at him, shouting in his face. "It's something they've got to work out between the two of them. Killing Vince isn't going to help."

But Dom didn't listen until Mia's soft voice broke through the tension.

"You knew?" she asked, her eyes wide as he stared at Brian.

All attention turned to him, and Dom stopped struggling against the arms holding him back. "What?" he growled.

"Yeah, I figured I out, okay? And when I talked to Rae about it, she asked me to keep it to myself until she talked to Vince. I think she was waiting until Jesse was back. She didn't want to ruin his party," Brian added, looking pointedly at Dom.

Alex watched as they stared at each other, then Dominic slowly nodded, taking a step back.

"You still should have told us O'Connor!" Letty snapped, glaring daggers at the ex-cop.

"No," Vivian said, shaking her head. "We are family and friends, but it is between zee two of them. We 'ave no right to interfere. And no matter 'ow 'eroic you all think you are being, Rae does not need you all to save 'er. _If _Vince 'urt 'er, it was 'er 'eart that was injured, nothing else. She is not the child you all see 'er as."

Alex just shook his head, noticing that Vince had disappeared in the drama. Fine, Rae and Vince could sort it out between the two of them. _Then _he'd kill the bastard that touched his little sister. He met Dom's dark gaze and saw his own thoughts reflected back.

The sound of laughter cut through the tension and they all turned as Leon appeared, pushing Jesse's chair in front of him, careening around and goofing off. Le's husky laughter died out as he felt the charged atmosphere and saw the angry faces.

Jesse looked between them all in confusion, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

Rae drove blindly, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe she'd let it slip out like that in front of everyone. She'd tried so hard to wait for the right moment. To tell him the right way. And now she'd fucked it all up royally.

She finally turned off, finding herself at the old garage, around the back of the café. Getting out of the car, she slammed the door, kicking the tyre again for good measure. Slumping against the door, she stared at the mural she'd painted all those years ago. The paint was peeling and faded, and it seemed so long ago that she'd stayed up late to finish the thing, just so Mia would like her.

She wished for those days, when she had less worries, less responsibilities. Rae loved her daughter, and wouldn't give her up for anything, but she missed the simplicity of it all.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, tears she'd help back before, but couldn't help letting go of now. Legs buckling, she slid down to the ground hard, hugging her knees to her chest as she let it all out.

* * *

Even though she had a head start, Vince managed to follow her long enough to figure out where she was heading. Slamming his door shut, he stalked around to the back, finding her huddled against her car. Rae's head snapped up at the sound of his footsteps and she swiped furiously at the tears streaking her face.

"What do you mean, 'you never'?" he growled, stalking over to loom above her. She looked up, her eyes tired.

"God, you're so slow sometimes," she sighed, the fight gone from her.

He frowned. "Gimme a break, Rae. I'm just trying to…she's…she's mine?" he asked, whispering the last part.

She just looked at him with those big brown eyes and nodded, He felt like she'd decked him again and he slid down the wall opposite her, not looking away.

The kid was _his_ kid.

Bella.

With her little pigtails and her mother's brown eyes.

He felt as though he was disconnected from his body, watching from a distance. He had a kid. He was a father. He just couldn't seem to get his head around the concept.

"I'm sorry I never told you Vince, I just didn't know how," she said, snapping him back into the real world. "You told me to leave, Vince. I had to get away. By the time I found out…I couldn't come back. I couldn't face you, or the rest of them."

She rubbed her hands over her face. "I thought we'd be okay, Bella and I, just the two of us. But as soon as I came back here, I realized she would miss out on so much. Not just the Team, but knowing…knowing her father. It's not fair on either of you. But things were so tense with Jesse in the hospital, and then what happened between _us_."

He stared at his feet in shock. "I don't know how to deal with this," he confessed. He watched numbly as she nodded and stood, hugging her shoulders, dust clinging to her jeans.

"I understand. I don't…I want you to be a part of Bella's life, but only if you want to be. I don't need anything from you, and I don't expect anything either. If you want us out of your life, we'll go. But if you want us to stay, you have to be sure it's what you want. Just…make this decision about you and Bella, not about you and I."

With that, she got in her truck and left, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Rae had decided calling Vivian's phone was her best bet and by the sounds of things, she made the right call. The others sounded pissed, and Viv had taken Bella back to the hotel while the others argued or whatever it was they wanted to do when they were pissed off at two of their friends. Deciding to skip that little get-together, she drove back to the hotel instead.

"You should 'ave told me, I could 'ave 'elped," Vivian scolded lightly, hugging Rae tightly. "Are you okay sweet'eart?" she asked, pulling Rae back and holding her shoulders and peering into her face.

Rae nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Yeah, at least it's all out in the open now, right?"

Viv gave her a sympathetic smile. "Did you speak to 'im? 'e went after you," she smiled hopefully.

Rae nodded. "I told him it was his choice," she shrugged. "I honestly don't know what's going to happen," she sighed, looking at where her daughter was sleeping soundly in the bed. "I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

She reached down to brush a strand of hair off of Bella's face.

"You'll tell 'er the truth. She's a strong girl. And young. She will just be 'appy, you'll see," Vivian gave her a reassuring smile. "It's Alex and the others I'd be worried about," she added.

"Gee thanks," Rae groaned, rolling her eyes and cracking her first genuine smile.

* * *

Vince stood at the door, his mind still trying to deal with what had happened. The decision hadn't been a hard one, more of a no-brainer, really. He just hoped it was the right one. It wasn't something he could change his mind about whenever he felt like it. He had to live with his choice forever.

He knocked on the door, flinching a little as a bit of tension turned it into more of a thump. A second later, the door swung open to reveal a surprised looking Rae.

"We gotta talk," he said, stepping inside, half expecting Alex to jump out, ready to swing. He hadn't been back to the Fort yet, he wasn't sure what to say to them all. Or how to stop them from killing him. "Is she here?"

"Next door," Rae supplied, smoothing her hands over her jeans nervously. "She was asleep in Viv's room when I got back, I didn't want to wake her."

He nodded. Right, kids slept more. Probably because they bounced around so much.

He sat down at the small table, staring down at his folded hands. "I don't know how to be a father, Rae. My old man was a mean sonovabitch," he said softly. He'd never spoken about his dad since the night he'd come to stay at the Toretto's for good. "And I ain't the best role-model. I honestly never thought I'd have kids," he confessed. "I'm not father material."

She nodded, and he saw tears welling in her eyes before she turned away.

"Rae, I didn't…" he began, reaching awkwardly for her hand. He was so far from her comfort zone that it wasn't even funny. "Shit," he cursed. "I wasn't asking you to leave. I just don't know if you should really _want_ to stay. I'll be a shitty father. But I won't cut out like my father did. I just don't know how to do it."

A frown crossed her brow, and she cupped his face. "You're a good man, Vince. Just get to know her. There's plenty of time for the rest."

He nodded, hoping she was right. She stood and held out her hand. "Come on."

"You want to tell her now?" he asked.

"Why not? She needs to know sometime."

He swallowed down his fear and took her hand, trusting that she knew what was best for her…_their _daughter. "Okay, let's do this."

* * *

Rae nodded at Vivian, who gave her a little smile when she saw Vince. "I'll be next door if you need anything."

"Thanks Viv," Rae replied before shutting the door after her. She let go of Vince's hand and walked over to the bed.

"Hey sweetie, wake-up time," she said softly, patting her daughter gently. She smiled as Bella stirred, giving a big yawn and blinking her eyes as she looked around the room.

"Hi momma. Hi Vince," she waved at him where he stood by the door.

He was watching her closely, as if really studying her for the first time. Rae waved him to come closer, and he moved to stand next to the bed.

"Bella, before you were born, I did something silly. I got scared and ran away from here." She struggled with what to say, how to tell the toddler. She went with blunt. "Sweetie, you know how most people have a momma and a daddy?"

Bella nodded, looking curious.

"Well, Vince is your daddy."

The two adults stood in silence, waiting for the three-year-old's response. She blinked, and looked at Vince with a sweet smile. "Okay. I like Vince."

Vince let out a gusty breath and Rae laughed in surprise.

"Well, that was easy," she grinned.

They moved back to Rae's room, and talked about Bella while she played on the bed next to them. Vince didn't seem to know what questions to ask, but he seemed happy enough to listen as Rae told him random stories about Ella's life so far.

She dived into one of the boxes stacked in the corner of the room, coming up triumphant. She pulled out Ella's baby book, and watched as he flipped through the pages. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, his expression was intense and unreadable. He just seemed to be sitting back and taking it all in.

Ella didn't seem to mind at all, and Rae thanked her lucky stars that her daughter was young enough that she didn't truly seem to understand. Hopefully in time the two would get closer, but Rae wasn't going to push them.

Ella's eyes started drooping not long after, and Vince watched as Rae tucked the sleeping kid into bed. They went out into the empty hall before she spoke.

"Here," she said, her voice soft as she handed him the baby book. "Take it back, look through it on your own if you want. You don't have to, I just thought you might…"

"Yeah, thanks," he replied, looking down at the book in his hands. "Will you be around tomorrow?" he asked, blue eyes still on the brightly colored book.

Money had been tight when Ella was born, so Rae had drawn on her own artistic skill and made her own book, flowering vines twining between the pictures, and stars scattered around the name on the front.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Berto has me working tomorrow afternoon, but I was going to swing by the café to drop of Bella for Mia to watch. I'll be around at lunch."

He nodded, pausing thoughtfully before he spoke. "I get what you mean now, about things being complicated."

Rae bit her lip and nodded, trying to pretend it didn't hurt.

"But this," he continued, holding up the baby book. "it doesn't change what happened." He frowned. "So where do we go from here?"

She cupped his cheek, looking up into those dark, troubled eyes. "I don't know," she sighed, "I think we just focus on this thing with Bella. And see where we end up."

His hand lifted and cupped the back of her neck, and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Okay," he paused, and she knew he was trying to say something else. "It must have been hard. I'm sorry I scared you off, you shouldn't have had to go through all that alone."

"Don't do that," she said firmly, looking up to stare at him. "I could have come back. I could have called. I _should_ have told you sooner. We both…we acted like idiots. Now I'm sick of hiding it, even if Alex is gonna be pissed at me for lying. Oh shit," she exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"What?" he frowned, worried.

"The others…do you want me to come back with you and talk to them?" she asked, biting her lower lip nervously.

He chuckled at her. "I think I can handle it alone, Mommy. Don't worry about me," he said, walking backwards in the vague direction of the elevator. "I'll be fine."

She smiled and waved as the doors closed in front of him.

* * *

Vince spent the entire drive home thinking everything over. He sat at a stoplight for a while, only noticing the light had turned to green when the car behind him started leaning on it's horn, scaring the bejeesus out of him.

When he got back to the Fort, carefully carrying the little photo book, the whole Team was up, watching a movie, save for Jesse. As soon as he pushed through the door they all turned to stare, Dom and Letty standing up, both glaring daggers at him.

"What. The fuck," Letty growled.

He just walked past, heading straight for the stairs down to his room. "Not now," he said quietly.

"The hell!" Dom pitched in, grabbing Vince's arm to stop him passing.

Vince just turned to stare at him, his turbulent thoughts bypassing his normal hot temper. "Not now, Dom."

The bigger guy stopped in surprise, letting him go back to his room.

"He really had no clue, did he?" Leon commented, watching the door where his friend had disappeared.

Vince went through the motions, showering and brushing his teeth before pulling on a pair of boxers and sitting on the edge of his bed. He stared at the album where it sat so innocuously on the top of his dresser. Tugging it forward, he flipped it open to the first page.

A tiny little scrunched up face, peering out from a pink blanket.

A picture of Rae, her hair stuck to her face with sweat, staring down lovingly at the same little face.

His daughter.

* * *

The Team were at the café by the time Rae arrived, having been hijacked by her brother for a screaming match. She'd won, barely. Because he'd finally been forced to admit that having a dead father wouldn't suit Ella's best interests.

Her temper was still on edge, and the questions she knew were waiting didn't help things either. Bella squirmed in her arms and ran straight over to them as Rae set her down, oblivious to the tension in the room.

She noticed Vince was sitting slightly apart from the rest of them, and she was willing to bet he'd left it all to her to explain. _Gee, thanks._ Rae's short temper made her fight-or-flight instincts kick in.

"Okay, fine. Vince and I slept together on my eighteenth. I lied. I ran away, found out I was pregnant, and kept on running. He didn't know. No-one did, 'till Brian guessed," she declared, ignoring the looks the other customers were giving her.

Vince's eyes shifted to the ex-cop and Rae realized he's missed that little tidbit, although the others didn't seem surprised.

"That's it. Any questions, or can we move on?" she asked, shooting them all a glare.

"Yeah, I have one," Letty said after a pause. "Seriously? Vince?" Rae's cousin asked, scrunching up her nose.

Vince finally spoke up, giving an indignant, "Hey!" as Rae replied.

"Yes, seriously. What are you looking at?" she snapped, turning her glare on the few gaping customers. They quickly turned back to their meals, and Rae grabbed a seat between Jesse's wheelchair and Vince's seat. "So how're you doing, Jess?" she asked.

There were a few nervous coughs as the others turn back to their previous activities.

"Good," he replied. "Confused, but good," he grinned, his fingers tapping restlessly on the arm rest.

She gave him a pat on the shoulder. "S'okay Jesse, we're all a little confused."


	23. Horses & Houses

**_A/N__: Thanks to _**_2furious4u**, ****, **Running-Wild22**, **Trickster707**, **Lou14**, **tanya2byour21**, **lady4feet**, **..Seraphina.x.**, **AllieKat21**, **BrandonsGirl07**, **tattoogirl76**, **Linoria **& **my shangri-la **for their reviews, and thanks to everyone who added me or this story to their favs and/or alerts.**_

_**Oh look. Another long wait for an update. . Sorry. Not hugely exciting, but you know me, I like the little, quiet parts of the story as much as the sweeping drama. I finally know where I want to go with this story, so hopefully that will make it easier to write, but no guarantees on speedy updates, but they will come...eventually...**_

**_As always, Review & Enjoy!_**

* * *

"No!"

_Splat._

"C'mon kid, cut me a break here."

"Jelly Jelly Jelly!"

"Seriously? With cheese?"

"Yyyyyyyyes! Heeheehee."

Vince sighed, picking up the plate and heading back to the fridge for jelly. Who was he to know kids liked jelly and cheese sandwiches. Maybe it tasted good. He'd sure as hell never tried.

Bella was sitting at the table, whacking Binky's feet across the wood surface and giggling. She seemed to like him well enough, the whole 'I'm your daddy' thing hadn't seemed to change her world much. it might have made him feel a little hurt, but after he'd started playing closer attention to her, he noticed that she actually seemed to like him, even before. Other than Jesse, she'd taken to him more than any of the other guys, and while it had been mildly annoying before, he kinda liked the idea that his daughter liked him not _just_ because he was her father.

Although he had to question her intelligence a little. Grown people who'd known him for years didn't like him. He didn't really understand why a hyper three year old should be any different.

She hadn't taken to calling him dad yet, but in all fairness, this was the first time they'd been along, really interacting one-on-one. For all of five minutes since Mia had dragged Rae off somewhere...he didn't know where...and Rae had decided that it was time for a little father-daughter bonding.

Which still sounded weird to him, even if he was slowly getting used to the idea. The other's hadn't talked about it much, but they'd all been sort of watching, waiting to see what would happen. While he was grateful for the space, he couldn't shake the feeling like they were just waiting for him to screw up.

But Rae wouldn't have left him alone with the kid if she thought he was going to screw up, right? So all he had to do was keep an eye on her until her mom came back and he could relax. How hard could it be to look after a three year old, right?

He was an idiot. She argue with everything. Seemed to delight in driving him up the wall. Had that whole 'selective hearing' thing that drove him crazy. And she could scowl better than he could when she wanted. Then, right when he was getting ready to give up and call Rae to give her a time-out or something, Ella would give him one of those sweet smiles and look at him with those big brown eyes, and he found himself giving in.

And making jelly and cheese sandwiches. At his point, there was only one thing left to ask.

"Strawberry or grape?"

* * *

"Jeez Mia, can't you just tell me what this is all about?" Rae sighed, pushing her sunglasses up her nose. "Not that I'm complaining about our little walk."

"It's surprise Rae! As in...you don't know till we get there...you have heard of surprises, right?" Mia laughed speeding up a little as they neared their destination.

Normally Rae would have let it go, but there was a nervousness to her friend that told her something was up, that Mia had something up her sleeve. She was jumpy, and her laughter was a little brittle. She was nervous, and that made Rae nervous too.

When Mia had called and told her they were going out, she'd figured girl's night, or shopping spree, or something other than wandering around the neighbourhood. They were currently somewhere between the garage and the Fort, and as far as she knew, there was nothing but houses in the area. And it was hot, and sticky, and Rae was swiftly losing her patience.

"Mia girl, I swear this better be good...what?" she trailed off, looking at the other girl strangely.

Mia had stopped, and was staring at Rae with a nervous grin. "Ta-dah!" she exclaimed, gesturing at the house they'd stopped in front of.

Rae tipped down her sunglasses, eyeing the run-down three storey house suspiciously. "And just what exactly am I looking at?" she asked, raising one eyebrow sceptically.

"My idea. Now hear me out before you yell, okay?" Mia began, biting her lip.

Rae sighed and crossed her arms, staying silent and waiting for her best friend to explain.

Mia swallowed visibly and nodded. "Okay. So. You've decided to stay in town, settle down and buy a place, right? So I found you one!"

Rae blinked slowly, looking at the two storey house with its attic dormers and overgrown but large lawn. The green paint was peeling off the wood, two windows were boarded and the roof was missing some tiles. "You...found me...this?"

"Yeah, I mean, okay...you don't need a four bedroom place, but it's a fixer-upper, so it's cheaper than it would be. We'll just get the Team working on it, and have it fixed up in no time! And I can rent a room from you, which'll mean you're making even more money on top of the investment value, so it's really a steal, right? And it's close to the Fort, in a fairly nice neighbourhood that's still on the up, so you can't lose!" she gushed, her eyes wide and hopeful. "I have the keys from the realtor if you want to look inside..." she added, trailing off at Rae's blank stare.

Rae took a deep breath. She looked at her friend. Then the house. She rubbed her eyes under her sunglasses, blinking away the dots and sighing. "You can show me around, but I swear I'm not agreeing to anything," Rae said finally, figuring she might as well let Mia pitch her case.

As they walked through, Rae kept a running tally of the work that needed to be done, starting with the missing boards on the front porch and ending with the separate garage that would probably be safer just torn down completely.

Mia was right about one thing. While there were a hell of a lot of things to be done, and _everything_ needed to be painted or re-tiled or re-carpeted. But there were no major repairs to be done, nothing structurally damaged, it was all just cosmetic. And despite her reservations, Rae could see the potential underneath that had drawn her optimistic friend's attention.

The rooms were nice and large, with good light. The kitchen was large, the layout was good and a lot of the original woodwork remained. I was a good house, really good at the price they were asking for, but Rae was just so blindsided she didn't know what to say.

Luckily, Mia seemed willing to let her be after the tour, and Rae didn't say much on the way back, her thoughts whirling.

* * *

He was so out of his depth. This had been a really, REALLY bad idea.

"Faster! Faster horsey! badum-badum-badum," she yelled, patting his head as he ran around the house with Ella on his back. "Wheeeee!"

Vince chuckled under his breath, unable to resist the little girl's infectious good-mood. If this was all there was to being a dad, he was doing pretty good. Although he had a sneaking suspicion it got more difficult as they got older.

Like when they were teenagers, with parties and boys – oh god, boys. He was gonna have to buy a new shotgun or something. "Hey kid, how'd you feel about boys?" he asked over his shoulder gruffly.

"They're stupid. Declan eats playdough. Boys're icky," she stated, her voice disdainful.

"Good. Let's keep it that way," he replied before resuming his tour around the living room.

Ella went back to giggling and patting his head as he tromped around. Heading past the dining room, he met the amused gaze of Jesse, who'd finally disengaged himself from his computer. He'd stopped his wheelchair in the doorway, a couple empty soda cans in his lap.

"Speak a word of this and I'll tell Letty about that time you saw her changing in the bathroom," Vince growled, staring down the younger guy.

Jesse's eyes got wide and he nodded, miming zipping his lips. "Nope, you got it V. Not a word. I don't wanna get killed," he answered.

"JESSEEEEEE!" Ella yelled, making Vince cringe since she was yelling right in his ear.

"Hey kiddo, how you doing?" Jesse asked, waving his fingers at her, black chipped nail polish and all.

"Play horsey Jesse?" she asked, and Vince just _knew_ she was making those puppy-dog eyes at his friend. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

* * *

"So are you working tomorrow?" Mia asked as she walked up the front steps and out of the sun.

"Nah, not unless someone calls in," Rae answered, following Mia inside the cool house. "I had a few things to do—"

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Mia and Rae stopped in their tracks, staring in surprise as Vince came running in, pushing the wheelchair with Bella giggling from where she sat in Jesse's lap. The stopped suddenly as Vince came up short, and Rae would swear she saw the hint of a blush on his cheeks at being caught playing.

"Uh...hi..." Jesse trailed off, and Mia started laughing uncontrollably.

"Momma!" Ella grinned, practically leaping off of Jesse at her.

Scooping her daughter up, Rae grinned, bopping her nose. "Having fun, Munchkin?" she grinned, watching Vince look more than a little sheepish. Ella giggled and squirmed, nodding her head making her pigtails bounce. "Did you have a nice lunch?"

Ella nodded again, pointing a chubby finger at Vince. "We made sammiches."

"Ooooh, you lucky thing," Rae grinned, poking her belly. "Well, _I _didn't get any sammiches, so how 'bout you guys take the playing outside and I'll be along in a sec."

"You can ride down the ramp with me," Jesse grinned, happy to take Ella with him. Rae once again thanked her lucky stars that she had them all to help her, each of them happy to look out for the little girl.

* * *

Vince finished cleaning up Ella's toys, then headed for the backyard, finding Rae watching Mia and Jesse play with her..._their_ daughter out the window. He agreed with what she'd said about things being too complicated. He was having a hard enough time dealing with the news that he was a father, figuring out whatever the hell he had with Rae...it was too much at once.

But that didn't stop him from wondering, or from watching her as the light silhouetted her face. It didn't stop him from vividly remembering the two nights they'd had together, or for wishing for more.

"You want a beer?" he asked, getting one out for himself.

She turned and looked at him in surprise, apparently unaware he was there, then nodded with a half-hearted smile. "Sure, why not."

He handed a bottle to her in silence, leaning against the counter and sipping his beer, still watching her as she watched Ella. He wondered at the frown on her face, knowing it wasn't because of worry over Ella. Something else was bugging her, and he's bet it had something to do with wherever she'd gone with Mia at lunch.

"So did you have fun?" he asked, trying to prod her into spilling.

"Hmmm? Oh, I guess," she answered absently, glancing at him then back outside, biting on her full lower lip.

"Rae...what's wrong?" he asked frankly, setting her bottle down and crossing his arms.

"What makes you think anything is wrong?" she answered evasively.

"Give up Rae. You only get all silent and moody when you're pissed about somethin'," he pointed out.

"Oh, you know me so well, huh?" she replied, but there was a hint on laughter in her voice. "So how come you always end up on your ass when I get pissed if you're so good at gauging my moods?" A smile tugged at her lips as she raise the bottle to take a sip.

"Practise," he grinned, not missing a beat.

She laughed at that, giggling and spilling beer a little; ungraceful, sure, but he was just glad to see her smiling.

"Come on, tell me what's up," he added, tossing her a mostly clean dish towel to mop up.

She sighed and nodded. "It's...I don't know. Mia showed me this place today. A house. She thinks it would be perfect for me," he answered, mopping up slowly before tossing back the towel.

"And would it?" he asked carefully. If she was planning on staying around, he was damn happy about it, or a lot of reasons.

"Yeah, it kinda would," she admitted. "It would need a lot of work though. It's not that, so much..." she trailed off, biting her lip again.

"You don't want to stay," he finished for her.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "No! I mean, I want to but—"

"You're not ready then," he interrupted.

"No, would you just...gah! How am I supposed to answer when I don't know!" she growled, glaring at the ceiling.

He shut his mouth and waited for her to speak, figuring he'd pushed enough for now.

"I..." she sighed, pushing herself up onto the counter and looking at her fingers. "My brother is back in Chicago. Viv...my new niece or nephew. All my friends from the past three years. The life I made for myself. Don't get me wrong Vince, I love this place...the Team...I never want to lose that again," she sighed, looking up at him. "And I'd never encourage you to get close to Ella just to take her away."

She leaned back against the window frame, still watching him. "I'm staying Vince, I said I would. And I want to, and I'm ready to. It's just a big step for me, and a huge change. I'm just having a little trouble adjusting, but that doesn't mean I've changed my mind. I guess the house just brought it...well...home, so to speak."

She grinned at her own lame pun, and he felt himself relax again. "Cute," he groaned, shaking his head. "You're such a dork sometimes."

She shrugged, her bright smile not fading. "I try."

"So other than the freak out, you think it's the house you want?" he asked, taking another swing of his beer.

"Maybe," she replied hesitantly, biting her lip on a grin. "Don't tell Mia, she'll never shut up about it. I just have to figure out if it's worth it. I mean...my folks left us money and stuff, so I have enough in the bank, but I don't want to just throw money at it, it has to be worth the investment. And the time, I don't want to spend forever fixing it up only to hate it when it's done, y'know?"

He nodded, scratching his jaw and thinking hard. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Well actually..." she grinned. "I need someone to look over the place and figure out how long any work would take."

He frowned a little, not sure why she was asking him that. "I ain't a builder, Rae. If it ain't an engine..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Aw, come on V! You guys built that ramp for Jesse, and I know you're good with your hands...." She stopped, her eyes going real wide and a red flush touching her cheeks. "Ugh, that came out wrong..."

"So I'm not good with my hands?" he asked softly, not able to resist teasing her a little, even if it only intensified the less-than-innocent thoughts he'd been having about her.

"No...yes...I just meant," she replied, flustered as squeezed her eyes shut, only to snap them back open at his low chuckle. "Jerk," she scowled. "What I _meant_ was that you're good at fixing things, and I'd appreciate your advice."

He smiled, nodding slowly. "Alright, I'll take a look with you."


	24. Cupcakes & Engine Oil

_**A/N: Thanks to **Lou14**,** 2furious4u**, **Trickster707**, **tanya2byour21**,** Ms. Lori Reznor**, **tfatfreak207**, **kiersten2009**, **AllieKat21**, **emma134 **and **Mazda **for their reviews of the last chapter and also to everyone who added this/me to their favs & alerts!**_

**__****I want to say a big thanks to all of you who've stuck with my EPIC slowness, I WILL finished, never fear!**

**__****I love that you guys love Bella too :)**

**__****Big hi to the new readers, I'm glad you like!**

**__****I have...*shifty eyes*...plans...to add a little action soon, still ironing out the kinks, but fingers crossed!**

**__****Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

They stood in front of the mildly run-down house, leaning against the hood of his car, tattooed arms crossed over their chests. The California sun was bright and warm on their backs, but with a light breeze dancing over their skin and taking the edge off the heat.

"Well?" Rae prompted after a moment's silence. The two of them had done a thorough walk through of the house, and Vince hadn't said a word the entire time, just poking and prodding, looking closely at things and nodding whenever she added something or explained something.

It was driving her nuts, because she'd spent the last week thinking about the house every waking moment, imagining it fixed up just the way she'd want it, and filled with their daughter's laughter. She'd found herself getting excited about it with more than just the grudging acceptance she'd felt when Mia had shown it to her. She'd fallen in love with what it could be for her, and she was desperate to hear what Vince thought.

He shifted a bit, his elbow brushing hers, taking his own sweet time before he finally responded. "It's good."

She waited for him to say more, but he just kept staring at the house, a thoughtful look on his face. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to try and get more than two words out of him. Then other times he'd be more than happy to talk, he'd just say the wrong thing and piss her off. She reflected once again that communication was not Vince's strong suit.

"Got anything more to add or is that all?" she asked a tad sardonically, turning her head and watching his hard profile.

She saw the glare he shot her briefly out of the corner of his eye. He shrugged one shoulder, still focused on the building before them. "I still think you need a professional to double-check the structure, just in case. But the rest looks pretty simple, _if_ you hire someone who knows what they're doing. A few loose roof slats, some refinishing, a lick of paint, a new banister – although the stairs themselves seem okay – and that one window needs a new panel. It'll probably cost a bit to get it fixed right, but not a huge amount. The rest is just paint and flooring."

And that was it. His verdict. All she knew she was going to get out of him and more than enough for her. She had a sneaking suspicion he was trying not to get involved because he was worried she would blame him if something went wrong. It was sort of sweet, in a mildly annoying sort of way. Still, she'd follow his advice and get someone in to check the structure before signing on the dotted line. These old wooden places could have all sorts of hidden problems, dry rot, termites, god know what else. She definitely didn't want to buy her first home just to have it crumble around her the second she crossed the threshold.

"All right V. I'll get someone in," she agreed softly, an excited smile tugging at her lips. This was it, finally a place to call her own, a family home for her daughter. She'd loved her apartment in Chicago, but it had always felt like a temporary thing. She'd always told herself that one day Bella would have a yard to play in, a home that was more than just four rooms and a half-decent view.

Of course, she might never have taken that final leap if she'd hadn't been moving to a new city and forced to look for a new place. She'd never admit that to Mia though. The girl had already gloated enough when she'd found out she was going back for a second look.

"Thanks Vince," she added, pressing a chaste peck to his cheek before he could pull back. "C'mon, I'll buy you lunch before we head back."

They were both silent as he drove toward a local diner, lost in their own thoughts. Rae was already working it all out in her head, what color she wanted the kitchen to be, which room should be Bella's, and what kind of furniture she wanted to get. She wasn't going to ship furniture all the way from Chicago when it was just random non-sentimental stuff anyway. Plus, she'd still need to get other things too. Like a kitchen table, something she'd missed about her old kitchenette. She'd liked the breakfast bar, but it wasn't much use come Thanksgiving or Christmas, and Bella was getting to the age when those sorts of things were important to do right. Most of all, Rae wanted a house that they could grow into, something that would stand up to having kiddie parties and eventually surly teenagers. Somewhere that would be a constant in Ella's life and memories when she was all grown up. Somewhere she felt safe, the way the Fort had been for Rae.

Vince's thoughts were somewhere else altogether, and he kept his moody silence for most of their meal, other than to gruffly give his order to the waitress. Rae just let him keep his silence, used to Vince and somewhat secure in their friendship now that everything was out in the open and he understood why they couldn't be more than friends. She didn't have the same doubts and worries bubbling incessantly in her mind like she used to, the old worry that he'd figure it out from some slip she'd made, or that he'd get the wrong idea from a badly chosen word.

She when he finally spoke as she was mopping up the ketchup on her plate with her last fries, she barely batted an eyelash at his random question, knowing he'd been building up to it the whole time.

"So Mia's moving in with you?" he asked gruffly, his eyes oh-so-casually glancing around the room, anywhere but on her.

She swallowed her last bite slowly, watching him as she took a sip of her Diet Coke before answering him. "Yeah," she replied cautiously, wondering where he was going but knowing he'd come to it in his own sweet time.

He nodded, looking down at his empty plate and tapping his fingers silently on the chipped Formica table, looking for all intents and purposes completely relaxed in the red vinyl booth.

But Rae knew better.

"So is Brian moving in too?" he asked finally, the slight momentary twitch in his jaw the only sign that the question was anything but casual.

She kept her own silence for a few moments, watching him curiously until he finally met her eyes. Was he still jealous about Brian's relationship with Mia? Was he still angry with the ex-cop? Was he worried about him being around Ella? Or maybe...she barely dared to wonder...was he possibly jealous of her living with another guy, even if it was someone as platonic as Brian? She wasn't sure how she felt if that were the case, she was still firmly of the belief that they should stay strictly friends. She couldn't deny the slight thrill she felt at the idea of Vince being jealous over _her_ though, and it worried her. She was always weak around him, she always seemed to forget all her well thought out arguments when he was in the vicinity.

"No. Though I expect he'll be around a lot," she answered honestly. "Mia told me she wants to know what it's like being a normal couple before taking it further, even though they've practically been living together at the Fort," she added with a shrug, not entirely following Mia's logic herself.

It seemed to be something about living on her own (so to speak), paying her own rent and making her own way separate from her brother. Like she needed to prove she was her own person before moving on to be Mia & Brain. Though the two were just as madly in love as ever, and Brian seemed happy enough to give her time and space, as long as they were still a couple. Rae suspected he might need a little time to find himself as well, after all the major changes that had taken place in his life so far. It seemed obvious to her that it would only be a matter of time before they both took the next step, but she understood their shared need to be doing it for the right reasons and not just because it was the next thing to check off the relationship list.

He just nodded again and they lapsed back into silence, broken only when the waitress came to clear their plates and take their order for desert. Rae looked idly out of the window as she waited for her caramel fudge sundae to arrive. She wondered if she should push him further, to find out what was really bothering him, but worried that he might just clam up even more. Whatever it was, it seemed to really be bothering him.

But being a coward – although she liked to think of it as being patient – she let it ride, hoping that eventually it would eat away at him until he finally spilled. She ate her sundae quickly, feeling a little awkward since he hadn't ordered anything, but quickly relaxed as he proceeded to steal bites of hers with the second spoon the waitress had thoughtfully left him, with only an arched brow in response to his theft.

Whatever tension there had been was gone by the time she was scraping the last sauce from the bottom of the glass, smacking his hand away as she fought fruitlessly to get the spoon into the tiny dip at the bottom. Thoroughly convinced that they designed them that way on purpose just to dupe poor innocent ice cream lovers like herself, she finally pushed away the glass with a sullen pout and pulled out the cash to pay for her share before they headed back to his bright, low car.

* * *

When they got back to the Fort, it seemed like everyone was already there, just doing their own thing. Vince saw Dom's feet sticking out from under the Charger in the garage, Letty leaning over the open hood and helping from the other side. Rae shouted hi beside him, earning herself a flash of smile and a quick wave from Letty before she turned back to her work.

He figured they'd come inside in a few, once they had finished whatever they were working on. Mia hadn't exactly stayed quiet about her find, and surprisingly enough Dom hadn't weighed in yet about the prospect of her moving out. Since Rae wasn't technically living at the Fort anyway, no one was particularly shocked that she was looking for her own place, and as much as everyone loved Bella, having a three-year-old around could certainly put a cramp in more grown-up plans.

But when Mia had quietly added that one way or the other, she was moving out too, everyone had expected Dom to quickly counter and forbid her. But instead the big guy had looked at her in silence for a few moments, then stood up and walked out. Not storming out in a temper, but just...thoughtful. They'd all had a lot of changed to deal with recently, and at the core of all of them was the realization that not everything could stay the same, and that the longer they clung to the past, the more they'd miss out on in the future.

So of course, being the family that they were, everyone – including Rome, who'd slid right in like he'd been there all along – felt it was obviously their business to follow every detail of the potential move. Vince figured that at least there'd be plenty of help around for moving and painting and shit.

They jogged up the front steps and through the unlocked front door, greeted with the sights and sounds of Jesse, Leon and Rome goading at each other as they raced in PlaystationLand, leaning back and forth as the cars on the TV did their twists and turns around the circuit.

"Kitchen," Leon said when he saw the two of them out of the corner of his eye, not even looking away from the screen as he spoke, followed by a victorious bellow as he overtook Jesse.

Vince hung back to walk a second, then followed Rae through to the kitchen in time to see her scoop up Ella with a laugh. He nodded at Mia and Brian who were standing by the counter surrounded by bowls and jugs and what he was _guessing_ was powdered sugar.

"We were making cupcakes," Mia explained, dusting off her skirt.

"CUPCAKES!" yelled Ella, clapping her own icing-covered hands excitedly.

Vince raised an eyebrow at Brian, who just shrugged as if to say 'who was I to say no?'.

"Well I ain't cleanin' it up," he grumbled, eyeing the mess they'd made. Mia just stuck out her tongue, and he would have teased her right back, only Ella chose that moment to make a kamikaze dive from her mother's arms and right at him. He managed to catch her with a strong arm banded around her little waist, but somehow she ended up upside-down and he found himself staring at daisy-embroidered jeans and a pair of tiny pink sneakers. With powdered sugar all over them.

Right then Rae's cell started ringing and she grinned at them before slipping into the dining room to take the call. Vince looked down and met his daughter's little upside-down gaze, a big smile beaming on her face as she waved at Mia and Brian.

"Y'know, if you stay like that all the blood's gonna rush to your head and your brain will explode," he informed her casually, but it only made her giggle more, her pigtails swinging wildly, and, from his position at least, looking like they were sticking straight up from her head.

Grinning, Mia waved right back, setting off another fit of giggles. "So...?" she asked him, nodding towards the dining room door.

"So nothing. Ain't my choice," he shrugged, figuring it was Rae's choice what – and when – she told people about the house, even Mia.

"Gah! Fine. You two are impossible," she grumbled good-naturedly. "I'll go get Dom and Letty. She won't be able to keep quiet if everyone's here bugging her," she smirked, slipping out the back door before anyone could try and stop her.

Brian just chuckled, turning back to the counter and making a half-assed attempt to clean up, mostly putting the bowl in the sink and scraping some of the mess off the counter. Shaking his head, he swiped a roll of paper towels and carried Ella through to the living room. The guys all stopped as soon as they saw them, eyebrows rising as she kept giggling and waving.

"JESSE!"

"Ah, here we go again..." Leon muttered with a grin as the little girl started squirming in Vince's arms. The second he set her down she was off towards Jesse, and Vince just smirked, tossing his friend the roll of paper towels and letting _him_ deal with the sticky mess her hands were.

He slipped into the dining room just as she was saying goodbye to whomever it was, and waited quietly until she'd hung up before speaking. "I figured you should know Mia's gone to gather the troops for the interrogation."

Rae gave a somewhat unladylike snort, but didn't look too bothered, at least not about Mia. "Everything okay?" he asked, gesturing at the cell still in her hand.

"Hmmm? Oh yeah. That was just my old boss. I guess I forgot how hard it was going to be to say goodbye," she admitted with a sigh.

He took a step forward, leaning his hip against the table. "It doesn't have to be goodbye forever, I mean...you'll be back it town to visit Alex and Viv plenty, 'specially when the kid comes, right?"

"I guess..." she admitted grudgingly, though he could see she was still a little unhappy about it.

But Vince knew it wasn't something he could fix, and pushing her would only make it worse. She'd made a choice, and while he was more than happy with her decision to stay, he couldn't stop her from caring about the people she'd left behind. But there was one thing he could fix right now...

Grinning her pointed a finger at her cheek. "You got iced."

"What?" she frowned, her hand automatically reaching for the spot he was pointing at. "Arg! Ew..." She wiped of a splodge with her finger, but there was still a nice little trail along her jaw.

"Here...let me..." he stepped closer, cupping her face gently and running his thumb across her skin.

He met her eyes, and watched as her eyes widened, her lips parting slightly before his digit finally lifted from her skin. He felt a little smug, it was nice to know that despite her choice not to make things complicated, she was still affected by him. Deciding that he could at least have a little fun, he leaned closer, his eye flicking over her face before he muttered, "Good enough to eat..."

Then he stood back and licked the icing off his thumb, flashing her an insolent grin and earning himself a scowl in return. But the scowl lasted for only a second before something flashed in her eyes, and he knew that once again, he was going to lose. Lifting her own icing-covered finger, she brought it to her mouth, her full lips closing as she slowly – achingly slowly – pulled the finger out of her mouth, now clean of the offending icing.

Shit.

A low groan echoed through the room, and he realized the second she gave a triumphant grin that the sound had come from _him_. With that victory, Rae sauntered out of the room, and Vince took a second, resting his head against the cool wood before he followed her back out.

* * *

Letty bit down on her lower lip and gripped the wrench hard, the lean muscles on her arms straining as she tightened the bolt. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow, the loose strands of hair escaping her ponytail clinging to her skin.

"Pass me the half-inch torque wrench," Dom called from under the car.

"Get it yourself man, it's like a half-foot from your knee," she snapped, grunting as she finally got the bolt into place. She was enjoying spending a little one-on-one time with Dom, but that didn't mean she was going to start waiting on him hand and foot.

She heard Dom grumbling, but a second later he slid out and grabbed the wrench before sliding back. Grinning to herself, she bent back over her work. They'd been taking things slow, like they'd agreed upon, spending little snippets of time together and just letting the bond for between them.

Mostly, she was bored out of her skull.

Things with Dom had never been easy, but they'd sure as hell been fun. Although at some points she could have done with a little less near the end there. Sure, she appreciated that he was giving her time, trying not to push her, but seriously? Every time she even felt like they were close to finally getting somewhere, he'd pull back.

Maybe she'd knock a little sense into him. Yeah, that would work.

Still it felt nice to be put first for once. He could get this work done in no time if he called the other's in to help, but he didn't. Sure, part of that was because it was his dad's car, something he felt was _his_ to fix, but that made it all the more special that he asked her to help. Like he was sharing something that was just theirs.

Not that Dom ever thought about things like that. No, he'd probably just woken up one morning and decided it would be fun. But the fact that he'd thought of it at all was enough for her. She wasn't a romantic. She didn't need grand gestures and promises of forever. That had never been what she wanted from him. She just wanted to know that she was enough, that she was the one he was with. That she could trust him.

Smiling and waving at Rae's callout, she turned back the engine to finish what she was doing. "That's Rae and V back," she told him.

She heard an unintelligible grunt from the depths of the car, but a second later he was rolling out and wiping off his greasy hands. He'd played it cool, but the fact that no one had needed to drag him away from the car in order to talk about houses was a sure sign that he was worrying about it all.

Grabbing an oil rag herself, she wiped the majority of the dirt off her hands and cocked a hip against the hood, watching him closely. "You know she'll be fine, right? Somehow, despite your best efforts, she's managed to get a smart head on her shoulders, and it's not like she's moving to another city."

Silence. He didn't seem to react at all, picking up his tools and getting to his feet, his eyes focused on his task.

"If it weren't for...everything..." she hedged, not wanting to air their dirty laundry over this. "She'd have moved out when she finished high school, you know that. At least now you know who she's with. It's not like she's moving to a party house or anything. Kinda the opposite, Dom."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, just a flick of his dark eyes, but enough to show he was listening.

She put down the rag and walked towards him, tugging on his big arm until he turned to face her, his eyes still stubbornly avoiding hers. "Talk to me, Dom. We're gonna walk in there, and no matter what Rae says about this place, eventually Mia's gonna leave—"

"I know that!" he snapped, pulling away and kicking over a bucket. Letty just watched him in silence. He'd finally decided to join the conversation and she wasn't about to stop him.

"I get that she has to grow up, Let. And I get it – moving in with a single mom and her three year old kid is about as far from wild as our lives get. But she's not gonna be under this roof anymore, and I can't stop from thinking that maybe this is it," he growled, sitting down heavily on the old battered lazyboy in the corner.

"It...what?" she asked cautiously, not really understanding what he meant.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Mia moves out. Vince and Rae are...whatever the hell they are." Letty snickered at that. "Le's talking more and more about going off to find Han. Soon everyone's gonna be doing their own thing. We've struggled through all this bullshit and stayed together, and now it's a fuckin' normal life that's pulling us apart."

Letty tried not to laugh, she really did. But he looked for all the world like a stubborn little boy – okay, not so little – who'd just been told it was time for his friends to leave after the party. Pretty close to reality, come to think of it. He shot her a glare and she glared right back before stepping forward and sitting in his lap, her knees straddling his hips.

"Dom...it's too late for that. We're all gonna have our own lives, that's the way it works. But you're forgetting the most important part," she added.

"What? You?" he guessed, his hands resting on her hips and a smile in his eyes despite their serious conversation.

"Well yeah, but you already _know_ I'm not going anywhere," she smirked. "No," she said, cupping his stubborn face between her hands. "What you're forgetting is that we're _family_. Rae's not living here, but she still spends most of her free time here. She still comes over for most meals, for every cookout, every party. Mia won't be any different. She's still work at the Cafe, still be a part of our lives. If Le goes off to find Han, you know what will happen? He'll bring him right back _here_. Right back _home_," she said firmly, looking right into his eyes so he could see the honesty in her statement. "If we weren't family, we wouldn't have survived this long, through everything that's happened. And we wouldn't be able to drive each other completely crazy the way we do, either," she added with a grin.

"So when we go in there, you're gonna be your regular, surly-assed self, but you're gonna tell your sister that you love her, and that it's okay. Because she'll do whatever she wants, but she still needs you to support her choice. You're always be her big brother, Dom. Nothing can change that."

He took a deep breath and nodded. And that was it.

And when she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips a moment later, it didn't take much to set them off. By the time Mia came to get them, Letty was groaning against Dom's lips as his hand slipped up under her tank top.

"Oh god! Please tell me you've got your clothes on!" Mia interrupted from where she'd spun to face the wall.

"Unfortunately," Letty grumbled, sitting up and swinging off Dom's lap, taking a few deep breaths to cool down.

Dom just shot her a slightly confused look, but it's not like she was going to tell him in front of his little sister how good it felt to get _anywhere_ with him. Yes, she was definitely going to have to do something about it. Soon.

"Alright, let's go."


	25. The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

_**A/N: Thanks to **AllieKat21**,** -JiLlIaN0sHAkItA-**,** littleone999**,** Lou14**,** my shangri-la**,** Trickster707**,** lady4feet**,** xXBXx**,** tanya2byour21**,** phoenixfire44**,** 1morning glory1**,** AnimusPatronus**,** BubblesScream**,** Ashes2Dust18**,** ILoveAnime89**,** Aerianna Lupin **&** Leon's Angel** for their reviews, sorry if I missed anyone, and thanks to all the favs and alerts. I hope some of you guys are still around after all this time!**_

_I don't normally like to whine a long list of excuses for not posting, but two years is a hell of a while, and I honestly wouldn't blame you guys for hating me, so I feel like I should explain..._

_The last two years have kind of been crazy for me, and not in a good way. My mom had to have major emergency surgery at the start of '11, and more surgery again this year. She's okay now, but she had a long recovery both times, and I've been the one looking after her. In between, I was also dealing with builders on a job that was supposed to take six to eight weeks but ended taking over six months – not counting the builder moving to Australia before everything was 100% finished. Uni at least has been good, though a lot heavier workload that I'm used to. I won't pretend there haven't been moments when I've had time to sit and write, but I've had zero muse at all. Not just for this, but for all my fanfics, and all my originals. No pulse, break out the shovels dead muse._

_But it finally feels like things are turning around for me, like I'm getting back on track, and getting me some muse action, too. I've decided to work on just this fic for now, though I still plan on finishing the others, I promise._

_So here I give you the next chapter of Second Chances, with more to come. And as a special apology (and because it needed one anyway) a spiffy cover image. I tried to make it look similar to the poster for the first movie, and I chose Natalie Martinez for Rae's pb. She wasn't really what I was thinking of when I started this story, but I like her, she looks like she could have a little Chinese in her genes (even though I don't think she does) and she has a nice mix of sweet and kick-ass that I think suits Rae's personality. My second choice was Shay Maria, but I decided while she might look more like I'd pictured Rae, she was a little too young, and a little too...racy XD Either way, I think the cover turned out pretty good._

_**Much love to you all, and again I promise I will NEVER just give up a story...even if it takes me forever.**  
_

_**Review and enjoy!**_

* * *

"Damn, I can't believe I ever thought this was a bad idea," Rae remarked.

"Mmmmhmmm."

"Mia, you're a genius, you know that? An evil, awesome genius."

"Mmmmhmmm," Mia repeated.

Three women let out a happy sigh, and silence reigned once again, broken only by the sound of hammers sinking nails into wood. Mia, Letty and Rae were perched against a rickety old table, taking time off from their own duties to admire the view as the guys worked on repairing the wooden siding. It wasn't so much the actual work, more the fact that they'd all removed their shirts in the California heat. Five half naked, sweaty, hard working men...yeah, it was a hell of a show.

"Damn," Letty sighed, finally joining in. "We should get them to do some work at the Fort, too."

"God yes," Rae agreed with enthusiasm.

"Feeling a little flustered there, cuz?" Letty asked with a smirk, eyes not moving from the men.

"As the only one here _not_ getting any, and being unrelated to any of them, that would be a resounding hell yes. 'scuse me for getting my kicks where I can," Rae replied unabashedly.

"Well I'm sure Vince wouldn't mind helping you with that first thing," Mia teased, getting a wince from Rae.

Letty glanced at her cousin before being drawn back to Dom's large form. "So you two are...?"

"We're not anything. We never were," Rae frowned, her eyes drawn to the man in question. His scars stood stark against his skin, but the healing flesh didn't bother her. Scars were something she could relate to.

"Sure," Letty replied sarcastically. "And you have a kid together because you, what? Bumped into each other really hard?"

"Fuck you."

"No, him."

"Letty..."

"Not like I get what you see in him, I mean...he's _Vince_. But clearly he did something right."

"What, you angling for a blow-by-blow or something?"

"Oh _hell_ no. Forget I mentioned it," Letty shuddered. Rae just smirked and turned back to eyeballing all the hunky man-flesh displayed before her.

* * *

"Damn, it's hot today," Vince sighed, practically falling into one of the folding chairs set up for lunch, a ice cold beer in hand.

"Yeah, that's what we were saying," Mia replied, an odd look on her face. A second later she, Letty and Rae burst out laughing. Vince looked at the other guys in question, but they just shrugged, looking as lost as he felt.

"Whatever," he muttered, taking a swig as Leon dug around in the cooler and tossed out sandwiches at random. "So how's it going?"

Rae grinned and relaxed back. "Pretty good, we've got most of the sanding done on the front porch; we should be able to start painting soon."

"Yeah, if you ever decide on colors," Letty muttered.

"I have...ideas," Rae defended.

"Ideas aren't gonna go buy paint tins, Rae," the older cousin remarked.

"Bite me. I'm an artist, I have a process," Rae sniffed, flipping her hair and ruining her superior posturing by grinning and sticking her tongue out at Letty. "How about the siding?" she asked, turning her attention back to them.

"Good," Vince answered before taking a big bite of his turkey sandwich.

Rae just looked at him for a moment then rolled her eyes and turned to the other guys. "Translate please?"

Leon chuckled, even though he looked half asleep. "It's going well, we got about half of one side done, we should be able to finish the rest of it today."

"Yeah, we can probably get two sides done this weekend. I think we can probably swing some more during the week after the garage closes, but it might be better to save the rest of the siding until next weekend, do smaller jobs in the meantime," Brian added.

"Give a white boy a hammer and he thinks he'd a professional," Roman teased.

"Hey, fuck you bro,' Brian defended, shoving his friend with his shoulder and grinning.

Rae shook her head. "I appreciate you guys helping, but you don't have to spend all your free time working on the house."

Vince gave her a look just as his cell began to ring, and not recognizing the number, he stepped away from the table to answer it.

"Vince Martelli," he greeted.

"Mr. Martelli? I'm Doctor Hoffman, I work at Good Samaritan? It's about your father," the woman's voice answered.

"What else are we gonna do? As long as things get wrapped up at the garage, we might as well help out here. It needs to be done. You guys can't move in until at least the basics are done, and it gives..."

Vince was silent for a moment, for a whole lot of reasons, and went around the side of the house where the others couldn't hear, Dom rumble fading into the background. "What about him?"

"He's sick, Mr. Martelli, and I—"

"That's great," Vince growled. "I don't really care."

"But Mr. Martelli, surely—"

"The guy beat the crap out of me and my mom on a regular basis before he had the good sense to disappear. If you're lookin' for someone to come down and hold his hand while he gets better, I'm not your man."

There was an awkward pause as the doc cleared her throat. "I'm not sure you understand, Mr. Martelli. You father has stage four liver cancer. It's metastasized, which means it's spread to other parts of his body. He's also in renal failure. Your father is dying, there's nothing we can do. He doesn't have long left. You're the only next of kin we could find."

"Fine," Vince replied woodenly, before hanging up. Then he just stared at the phone as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on.

No, it didn't matter. His father was long gone from his life, and good riddance.

Shoving his cell back into his pocket, he pushed his hand through his hair and tried to wipe the frown from his face before rejoining the others.

"...have to choose what room you want," Rae pointed at Mia as Vince retook his seat and took a big pull on his beer. "So we can get them done first. Other than the kitchen, the others can wait."

"What? It's your house," Mia blinked.

"So? You're moving in. I'm taking the master, and Bella's gonna have the attic room once it's converted. That leaves three bedrooms unoccupied, and I don't mind which you take," she shrugged.

"Oh," Mia blinked again, then smiled. "Well I'll take a look and let you know."

"Everything okay?" Rae asked casually, and it took Vince a moment to realize she was talking to him.

"Fine. Peachy."

"Uh-huh."

"It's nothing, Rae," he snapped, instantly regretting it. He saw the anger flash in her eyes, and the single raised brow was signal enough that he needed to get a grip. "I'm fine," he added more calmly.

"Whatever," she snarked, turning away and effectively dismissing him.

He wanted to reach across the table and throttle her.

Why the hell did she always have to bug him when he wanted to be left alone? Make him want her when he couldn't have her? It was like the woman was programmed to drive him crazy. And now she was all pissy because he didn't want to spill his guts over one stupid, irrelevant, unimportant phone call.

He found himself glaring at his almost empty bottle as the others enjoyed the relaxed lunchtime, his thoughts grumbling around in the back of his mind until Jesse's shaky voice broke through the din.

"Uh, guys? Guys? I uh..." he cleared his throat and picked at the arm of his wheelchair. "I wanted to say something."

They all quietened down, Leon and Letty slapping playfully at each other before they all turned to Jesse expectantly. Even Vince was pulled out of his glowering, since Jesse wasn't usually one for grand speeches.

"So my physio has been going well—"

"Woot!" Leon crowed, causing them all to grin.

"And well, the doc things I can start getting out of this thing outside of the hospital. Just a little at first, but—"

He was cut off as they all started piling on him, raining down hugs and slaps on the back in congratulations.

"Jesse, that is outstanding," Dom grinned as they settled down. "And, well," he looked at Vince, who nodded on his own grin. "You all know we've been working to getting a couple cars ready for the Races." There were nods around the table, and a few puzzled looks. "Well we're still a few weeks from being ready, but we were planning to wait until you could come," he lifted his glass to the younger man. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

There was an 'awww' from Mia, and Jesse looked a little taken back from the compliment before gathering himself. "No way you're waiting for me! I'll be there, even if I have to out wheel the cops in this beast!" he grinned, slapping the side of his chair.

"Hey dude, we could fix some NOS boosters to the back," Leon laughed.

"Hell yeah!" Jesse exclaimed, eyes bright. "Man, I bet I could even out-race _Dom_ with the right parts."

"Watch it," Dom scolded, taking a playful swipe at Jesse before joining in.

Vince couldn't help chuckling as he watch his friends – no, his _family_ teasing one another around their excitement for the Races. Yeah, they were his family, the only family he needed.

* * *

"So he gets out in a couple of weeks," Jesse was explaining to Roman as they stared at the screen, frantically hitting buttons. "I haven't talked to him much since I got out of the hospital, it's hard when I can't go and visit. I haven't told him about his Jetta, yet."

"Don't stress, cuz. Your pops will just be happy you're okay. And to be out."

"Rome's right," Leon agreed from the couch beside them. "Even if he _is_ a controller hog."

Mia and Rae stepped over the wrestling guys as they made their way to the dining room where Letty and Dom were dishing out take-out and Brian was setting out beers for everyone.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late, Bella was being fussy with Vince," Rae grinned, far from sorry.

"Could you look less pleased?" Letty smirked.

"Hell no. She's been so sweet with him, it was starting to piss me off. It's about time he saw the Dark Side," Rae chuckled.

Vince had been spending more time with Ella recently, his idea, even acting as babysitter once or twice. Tonight he'd skipped out on dinner, which was a little weird, but the girls were planning on hitting the clubs after and he'd volunteered to look after his daughter, so Rae wasn't going to look a gift coyote in the mouth.

"So Jesse's dad is getting out soon?" Mia asked, lowering her voice a little as she looked at her brother.

His mouth flattened to a grim line, and he nodded. "Providing his parole hearing goes well, which looks likely."

"Am I missing something?" Rae asked, looking between them. "I never met his dad, I just heard what happened after. And how much Jesse idolizes him."

"Got caught skimming money off his client's books, yeah," Letty nodded.

"Before I was pissed at the guy. Made a stupid move, left Jesse with no-one. But now I guess most of us have lost the moral high-ground there," he sighed. "He might need to stay here until he gets back on his feet. I'll let him for Jesse, but only if he's going straight. The kid's been through a lot, I'm not going to let his father bring him down again."

They all nodded in agreement. Hell, he may have only been a year younger than Mia and Rae, but there was something about him that made them all feel protective, and it had nothing to do with the chair. He'd always had a sweetness about him, despite the crazy shit they'd all done, and none of them would let anyone hurt him. Even his own father.

* * *

They were all well into their second helpings when Dom's cell rang for the second time in two minutes.

"Damn it Hector, this better be important, I'm having dinner," Dom growled.

He went silent.

His face became a perfect mask of nothing, a sure sign he was on his way to pissed off.

"Thanks man, I'll be right over."

He snapped shut the phone and slammed his fist down on the table. "Rae, you need to go get Vince, tell him to meet us at the Cafe."

Rae nodded, but Mia pushed further. "What, Dom?" she demanded, panic edging her voice.

Dom was silent for a moment, then rolled his shoulders like he was shaking off his anger. "There's been a break-in."

* * *

Vince pulled up outside, trying not to feel instantly guilty at the sight of the flashing police lights. Rae gave his hand a squeeze before she slipped out of the car, getting her - _their_ - daughter from the back. He'd told her to stay put, but she'd insisted on coming.

He pushed past the cops toward Dom. "What happened, man? Rae said there was a break-in..."

He trailed off as he got a look at the storefront. Someone had pried open one of the garage doors, and beyond was carnage. The tables were smashed, nothing remained on the shelves. Packets of food were torn open, chips crunching under the feet of the plain clothes officer that exited towards them.

"Mr. Toretto? I'm Detective Callaghan. O'Connor," the man greeted with a nod. O'Connor nodded back, so Vince figured Callaghan might not be a total prick. "We've had a look through, as far fingerprints go, the thieves used gloves, so we won't be able to get an ID from that, I'm afraid. It mostly seems to be cosmetic damage, other than the stock destruction and the door where they entered. You say there was only a small amount in the safe?"

Dom nodded, his thick arms crossed over his chest. "My sister took the cash to the bank earlier yesterday. All that was there was a few hundred from the register."

"Lucky, then. We can write a report for insurance, you shouldn't have a problem with that from our side, this looks like a straight forward smash and grab," Callaghan replied, looking down at his notes. "Without any witnesses however, it's unlikely we'll find the suspects, since all they took was cash. You say the friend that called you didn't see anyone?"

"No, he was heading out for the night and saw the door open, figured I might want to know."

Callaghan nodded again. "Well let me know if you think of anything else," he finished. "O'Connor knows how to find me."

With that, the detective left, and not long after the rest of the horse-and-pony show followed, leaving them with the wrecked store. Mia was crying, and Rae, carrying Ella, gave her an awkward one-handed hug before Brain took over.

They picked through the stock in silence for a while trying to salvage what was left.

"This is pointless," Dome snapped. "It's all destroyed. We'll have to dump it all, reorder."

They stood in silence.

"Bullshit this was just random. This place is totalled," Letty growled, her lip curving in a snarl.

There was a loud clang as Dom punched the broken garage door with force, letting out the anger that had been boiling in him. "She's right. No way this wasn't personal. The place is trashed, top to bottom."

"Hector?" Leon asked with a growl.

"I doubt it," Brian offered. "If he wanted to screw you guys over, he could have just refused to help Alex. That would have done a hell of a lot more damage than this."

"Hector has no reason," Vince added. "Yeah, he's a rival at the Races, but he's a friend, always has been."

"Plus, he'd have to be pretty dumb to call you himself to let you know," Rae added, bouncing a wide-eyed Ella on her hip.

"Not Hector," Dom agreed. "But there are a lot of people who'd want to screw us over," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his shaved head. "We're not going to figure it out tonight, and it's getting late. Let's get this place clear up and go home. We'll ask around tomorrow, see if anyone knows anything more."

They nodded, and Mia went over to hug her brother. "What about here?"

"Don't worry sis. We'll fix it. It'll just take time."


	26. New Faces, Old Troubles Pt01

_**A/N**__**: Thanks to **ILoveAnime89**,** Leon's Angel **(I know, right? heehee),** phoenixfire44 **(I will...),** BubblesScream**,** ks90**,** wrestlenascargirl**,** AllieKat21 **(getting there, thanks 3),** BeautifulDisaster07 **(sorry for making you wait, but you may sleep now XD), &** Straight Edge Queen **for their reviews, and thanks for all the favs and alerts, too.**_

_**Well LOOK. Not two years, woo! I was aiming for a week, then two...but still, just over a month is pretty good considering. I'll aim to update sooner next time though. This chapter is a bit all over the place, but I wanted to add some stuff and set down some threads that will hopefully pull together nicely down the road, so bear with me.**_

_**Also...I honestly can't remember if I gave Jesse a last name or his dad any name at all. If I did...sorry. I'm going with Jesse Halbrook, and Benny for his dad. For looks, I'm thinking someone William Sadler-like for Benny, older, lean and a little grizzled but handsom in his way. Lisa physically I see as Jamie Chung, if Jamie shopped at Hot Topic...cute, fashionable, a little air-head seeming but with an actual personality underneath.  
**_

_**Review and Enjoy!  
**_

* * *

Rae slit the tape on another box, mindlessly unpacking inventory onto the bare shelves of the Cafe. She'd spent the day there, helping Mia clean up the kitchen and clean up the mess, before Vince had finally arrived to try and fix the broken garage door. There was a dark mood over the Team, even when they were laughing and having fun, there was still that feeling like something was wrong.

She may not have been as paranoid as Dom; she'd been willing to put the whole thing down to bad luck. But after spending the day cleaning up, she had to admit the break-in felt personal. It became apparent to her that whoever was behind it had gone to great lengths to destroy every single item in the inventory. Not content with stealing and tossing a few shelves and tables on their way out, the robbers had gone down every aisle and pulled every item off the shelves, stomping it all to smithereens.

What kind of hit-and-run thief took the time – the risk – to do that, even it was out of some twisted sense of fun?

No, it felt personal, and over the day it had started to gnaw at her. She wasn't used to this, she'd steered clear of trouble since she'd left, and her biggest worries had be raising her daughter and not screwing up someone's ink. She wasn't used to the pressure, the tension. Her mind knew that one break-in wasn't cause to freak out, but at the same time there was the part of her that was a mom that just wanted to grab Ella and go.

She knew she could never do that. If there was real danger, of course, she'd send Ella to be with Alex and Viv until it cleared up. But she couldn't leave the Team, not again. They were family, and she'd fight for them too.

She was just really, really hoping it didn't come to that.

A large bang shook her from her thoughts, and she yelped out her surprise. "Jesus Vince, what the hell?"

He looked up from where he'd slammed his fist into the already twisted metal, anger furrowing his brow. "What?"

She just glared at him, and gestured sharply at the door.

He rolled his shoulders, trying – and failing – to look calm. "It's not working."

"Clearly," she drawled, rubbing her hands up her arms and realizing she was more on edge that she'd thought. "You just startled me."

He huffed and went back to work, but she stayed and watched him for a moment.

"Would you stop?" he growled, not looking up from whatever he was doing with the wrench.

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me. It's annoying."

She just gave a soft snort. She'd spent years staring at him as a teenager, and he'd never noticed before. "You're angry."

"I don't like being stared at."

"No, before that."

"Obviously. The fuckin' Cafe got robbed, or did you miss that?" he snapped, switching tools.

"Ohmigawd, really?" she gasped sarcastically, shaking her head and lifting Pop Tarts onto the shelf.

"They came after us Rae, after our family."

"Who?" she asked, not disagreeing with him.

"I don't know," he growled, slamming his fist into the door again. "That's the worst part."

She watched him again for a second, feeling like there was something more she was missing.

"Rae..." he warned.

"Yeah, yeah. Eyes front, soldier."

* * *

"I think mmph. I th—mmm. Damn it Letty, will you hold on for a second," Dom growled, pushing her back by the shoulders, holding her at a distance, despite the fact she was straddling her lap.

"What?" she snapped, giving him a dark look for disturbing her fun.

"I think we should stop."

She stared at him blankly for a few beats. Then glanced down at his lap, where there was solid proof that he didn't want to stop. Then she looked back at his face with a confused look.

Dom shifted under her, looking a little embarrassed. Dominic Toretto, embarrassed! It would be fucking hilarious if she wasn't about to start freaking out.

So many times over the last couple weeks they'd been so close...so damn close. Like always, Dom knew exactly how to get her engine revving, but ever since she'd given him – _them_ – a second chance, he'd failed to see it through.

"We just need to slow down a little—"

"The hell we do," she snarled, pushing away from him and stepping back with an accusing glare. "If you don't want me, just say Dom. I'd much rather deal with it than have you pretending—"

"Pretending?" he growled, his voice dangerous. "You think I'm pretending? What the hell Letty?! You think I have to...to fake it, just to keep you happy?" he stood and stalked after her.

"I don't know, Dom! Time was, I wasn't enough for you, now you're not even taking what's on offer!"

"You're not a fucking vending machine, Let. And I thought we were past the other girls," he added, sounding a little more cautious.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "We are. I am. It's just...we haven't had sex in weeks. We share a bed, but you don't do more than hold me. What am I supposed to think?"

He stared at her in silence, and she felt the panic begin to rise. He was going to agree with her. He was going to say sorry, but she didn't do it for him anymore. He was just being his own kind of noble.

Fuck, she hated feeling like this, like some simpering schoolgirl. She was tougher than this. She loved Dom, but she didn't need him to make her life complete.

Well that was bullshit, and she'd tried the tough, I-don't-give-a-shit attitude before, and what had it got her? A boyfriend who slept with every legal female in sight.

He stepped toward her, his face expressionless, like stone. She stepped back. He followed her until she felt the prick of the cinderblock wall behind her, and she swallowed hard as she looked up into his face.

"I've been trying," he paused, planting a clenched fist on either side of her shoulders and lowering his face until they were old inches apart. "To give you time," he growled each word with forced politeness, which meant he was royally pissed at her. "To let you trust me again. I've been walking around with the biggest case of blue-balls so that _you_ would feel comfortable."

"Jesus Christ Dom, which part of me throwing myself at you didn't you get?" she laughed, still a little tense from their argument.

"I just thought-"

"Well stop already," she smiled, looping her arms around her neck and pressing her lips to his.

"But—" he protested.

"Just shut up and fuck me already," she ordered, not giving him an inch.

"Yes ma'am," he muttered against her lips, his hands going to her hips and lifting her effortlessly.

Letty didn't give a pause as she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him hard and letting him know just how much she wanted him. Smoothing one hand over his shaved head, she moved her hips against his, loving the feel of his big hands on her ass as he carried her.

Grinning, she broke the kiss long enough to pull her grease-stained tank over her head, tossing it without care across the garage. His mouth automatically dropped to shower kisses and nips over her exposed skin, tracing the curve of her bra and nuzzling the straps off her shoulders. Her own fingers clawed at his shirt, trying and eventually succeeding it tugging it up enough to pull off and bare that delicious muscled chest to her gaze.

Dom set her down on the hood of a nearby car, and she leaned back with a lazy grin as he ran his big hands over body, smoothing down over her hips and pushing her legs apart. His hips settled in the space between as he dipped down to give her another taste of his mouth.

"Hey Dom I just-oh shit," Leon broke off, the door slamming again as he made a quick getaway.

Before Dom could do more than tense, Letty grabbed him by the neck and glared into his dark eyes. "Don't you dare stop."

He just chuckled and kissed her hard, grinding his hips against hers and telling her without words that he was nowhere near ready to stop.

She scraped her nails over his chest and down his abs while he nibbled on her lower lip. A moan of pure anticipation burst from her lips as she hit his waistband, managing to get the top button free before he pulled away and pulled her off the car with a quick tug on her hips.

She barely found her feet before he was spinning her around and crowding her against the hood. His chest was flush with her back, and Letty could feel him hard against her ass. Dom's big hands stroked up her bared stomach, cupping and massaging her breasts as he hummed with masculine approval. She tipped her head back on to his shoulder, and he nuzzled her neck, flaming the fire he'd been kindling inside her.

One hand cupped his head against her, her other back between their bodies to slide into his pants and tease his hard length. He growled behind her, his hands dropping from her breasts to unfasten her jeans and shove them down her body.

Dom didn't even take the time to remove them completely, instead gripping her neck and urging her forward. Bracing herself on the smooth metal, she looked over her shoulder and met his hot gaze. A wicked grin spread over her lips as he fumbled with his own jeans before grabbing her hips and sinking home.

* * *

An hour later they were curled around each other on the worn couch, a sheen of sweat covering their bodies. Letty started to speak but found her mouth dry and swallowed hard before trying again.

"So we're clear on this now?" she asked, lifting her head off of Dom's heaving chest.

"Oh yeah," he grinned, cupping the back of her head and kissing her again, this time slow and lazy.

A knock at the door caused them both to groan and part.

"Go away!" Letty yelled.

"Yeah fine, except the customer is here to get their car!" Jesse yelled through the door. "Puts some damn pants on!"

* * *

Vince watched Jesse's knee bouncing out of the corner of his eye. Normally he would have teased his young friend about it by now, but today...Jesse got a free pass.

"Thanks for the ride, bro," Jesse said for the third time.

"No problem," Vince replied, with more patience than he'd shown his entire life combined.

"You think the others are okay not coming?" Fingers started tapping a counterpoint to his knee.

Vince took a breath and repeated the same answer as before. "Yeah man. You and your pops need time together. We don't want the crew overwhelming him right off. They'll be there when the time's right."

Jesse nodded and turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.

"The halfway house thing sounds like a good idea," Jesse commented. "Right? I mean, he's been locked up for a while so at least he'll have somewhere to stay. Well, I mean he would have stayed with us, Dom said that. But I mean in general. If he didn't have us. And they're helping him find work, so that's good. I just hope he's not too mad about the Jetta. I mean, I know he has other things to deal with right now, but it was his baby. Dom and Le said he wouldn't be too pissed though. I mean, I know I wasn't the one that shot it to hell, but I technically lost it to Johnny first, and it was my fault. Not like, doom and gloom, but, y'know, I own that I made a stupid choice that day at Race Wars..."

Jesse continued to ramble, but Vince kept his eyes on the road, keeping silent as the miles passed.

He didn't mind coming, Jesse needed this, and he understood why Dom had asked it to cover it. His best friend hadn't said it in so many words, but Vince knew prison hadn't been one of Dom's favourite places, and he doubted the big guy wanted to come back, even just to standing outside waiting for Jesse's dad.

When the sign finally pointed out their turn off, Vince made it without a word, but Jesse still tensed beside him.

"Do you think he'll hate me?" Jesse suddenly asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

Vince looked at him, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I think he'll just be happy to be out, and happy you're okay."

As he pulled up outside the foreboding high security gates, Vince just hoped he was right.

* * *

"We got chicken, steaks, hamburgers and hotdogs, pick your poison," Dom offered, hands wide to indicate the meat in question, as if anyone would miss the overflowing table next to the grill.

The yard was bustling, if seemed like half the neighbourhood and all their friends had shown up. Dom was the only one still working, manning the grill as the rest of the Team enjoyed the California sunshine and the good company.

"I'll uh, start with a hotdog," Benny Halbrook responded with a weak smile.

Normally when they had a barbeque, it was just the Team, maybe racing buddies for special occasions. But now not only were they celebrating Benny's release – even though most people didn't actually know the guy – they were also celebrating Jesse's returned mobility, even if he was still a little wobbly and only able to stay upright for a short while before resting.

It was a fresh start all around, so they'd opened their doors – or in this case backyard – to anyone who wanted to come, and they were astounded by how many people actually cared about Jesse's wellbeing. Dom's father had always been respected in the neighbourhood, and some of that had passed on to Mia and Dom. But between the house parties, fights, loud cars and one shooting, they'd lost most of it.

Dom figured he shouldn't be so surprised that Jesse was the one exception. The little old ladies seemed especially fond of him, the jumpy kid seemed to be a bit of a GILF magnet, who knew?

"He seems to be doing well here," Benny remarked, his eyes following Dom's to where Jesse was animatedly trying to explain fuel injection systems to a couple adoring old broads who looked like they'd been around when cars were first invented. "I always appreciated how you guys looked out for him."

Dom felt a pang of guilt, knowing he'd not always done best by Jesse. He covered his discomfort with a shrug. "He's family," he paused for a moment, then looked at the older guy. "How're you settlin'?"

Benny grimaced but covered it quickly. Still, Dom knew enough about prison and the outside to know the next words out of the man's mouth would be a lie. "Good. Adjusting. The place they've got me workin' at ain't great but it's a job," he shrugged, before moving onto the table filled with side dishes.

Dom watched him go, feeling like he should be doing something to help, but not knowing what. Benny had only been out for two weeks, and Dom more than anyone understood how hard it was to adjust to life on the outside. But he had never been close to the man, and he sure as hell wasn't the touchy feely type to start talking about feelings and shit.

Truth was, he'd just as soon leave the man to sink or float, but if Benny screwed up, it would be Jesse that suffered. Frowning, Dom turned back to the grill and got back to work.

* * *

Rae was on her way from the bathroom when she heard Vince's growl in the kitchen.

"I don't fucking care! Stop calling me, alright? Get the damn message already!" he hissed, obviously trying to keep his voice down so the party outside wouldn't hear.

She quickly debated whether she should pretend she hadn't heard, or push Vince and find out what the bug was he's had up his ass the last couple of weeks. Not that Vince was normally a ball of sunshine, but he'd been snapping and growling at everyone, and at the oddest moments too. Rae had even spoken to Dom and Leon, to see if he'd said anything to them, but they'd just shrugged it off as residual anger from the break in.

She honestly couldn't say why, but something about the situation had her With a little mental shrug she decided not to over think it, and just go for the middle ground: letting him know she knew something was up, but leaving him to decide if he wanted to spill.

Squaring her shoulders she walked into the room like she hadn't been lurking outside, just in time to see him throw his cell into the thankfully empty and dry sink. "Oh that was real mature."

He spun to face her, his face visibly twitching as if her sheer existence added to his frustration. "What the hell do you want, Rae?" he snapped, pushing a hand through his thick hair.

"Nothing," she calmly replied, brushing past him on her way to the door, well practiced at ignoring the pull of his big, tense form. "I was just heading back out. But anytime you want to share why you've been acting like a dick, you just let me know."

She closed the door behind her, not quite covering the sound of him cursing her out under his breath. Ball was in his court, but if he didn't do something soon, she was just going to have to kick his ass. For his own good.

* * *

"Seriously, you're into cars?" Rae blinked, smiling despite her disbelief.

"Well yeah. I mean, I don't know that much about them," Lisa replied, rolling her eyes and causing her fake lashes to flutter dangerously. "I know, I'm a ditz," she chuckled. "But I like them, the colors, the passion people put into their rides, it sounds cheesy, I guess..." she trailed off, ducking her pink-streaked head.

"No way man, not to me. I was practically raised by street racers," Rae chuckled. "If I'd known, I'd have invited you to the barbeque last weekend, you could have met them," she frowned for a second, wishing she'd taken the time earlier to get to know the latest member of staff at Berto's shop.

Lisa had started working the front desk a few weeks back. Unlike everyone else who'd had the job in the past, she didn't seem that bothered about learning tattooing or piercing, she just needed the steady pay check. And since she actually seemed to know what she was doing with inventory and accounts, Berto was more than happy to keep her on.

Rae hadn't had much contact with the perky Asian girl, but her general impression was that she was sweet if a little bit of an air head. But finding they had something in common was making her quickly reassess her judgement.

"Ooooh, I know!" Rae exclaimed, her face lighting up. "You should totally come to the races with us! It's awesome, I haven't been in forever, at least not to enjoy it, and it'll be the first time the Team's been back in a while. Big party afterward, you can even crash at my place if you don't want to drive all the way back across town."

Lisa seemed pleased with the offer, and Rae felt bad about not making a point of getting to know her sooner. That being said, it wasn't like she avoided the girl, but since she was since working on commission rather than being a permanent member of staff, she was only ever in the shop when she had work to do.

"That sounds so awesome. I've heard about the races but I don't really know anyone in the scene. Man, that would be so cool!" she grinned, sitting forward eagerly, her dark eyes sparkling under the parlour lights. "When is it?"

"Next weekend. We can find you a ride there if it's a problem..." Rae trailed off as Lisa's face fell. "What?"

"I have a family thing next weekend..." she looked down at her hands as she fiddled with one of her chunky neon bracelets. "I can't really get out of it."

"That sucks," Rae commiserated. "But you should totally come next time, knowing my family they'll probably be there every week."

"Really?" she smiled, looking happy again. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Rae smiled, then glanced again at her watch. "Half an hour. I don't think my client's gonna show," she sighed.

"Ugh, I hate when they do that," Lisa shook her head. "Don't worry, if they call up, I'll be bitchy."

"Reeeeally?" Rae drawled, raising a brow in question. She highly doubted the woman could do bitchy even if her day included PMS and no chocolate.

"Well okay," Lisa ducked her head with a shy smile. "But I won't be helpful and I'll think really mean thoughts?"

"Good enough for me," Rae laughed, fist bumping the girl before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "Catch you later!"

Rae was still grinning when she made it back to the Fort, where Mia was watching Bella while doing what looked like more paperwork.

"Insurance still?" Rae asked. "I thought that stuff was dealt with."

"It is. This is..." Mia paused, wetting her lips. "Well I've been thinking about finishing college..." she gave a slight shrug of her slender shoulders.

"That's awesome, Mia!" Rae congratulated as she picked up her squirming daughter. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, okay?"

"Sure," Mia smiled, looking happier that Rae seemed to think it was a good idea. "What's got you in such a good mood anyway?"

"I think I just made a new friend at work."

"Wow, congrats. Look at you, using social skills and such," Mia chuckled.

"Yep. 'bout time, right?" Rae grinned back.

"Hell yeah. We were getting tired of carrying your ass," Mia teased.

"Bite me."

"Ooooooooh nice, I see what you mean. So friendly," Mia continued, before squealing with laughter as Rae and Ella descended on her for a rather awkward noogie.

* * *

"It's gonna be awesome dad, you should see some of the mods we can do these days. Some of the cars out there are like works of art, I used to have the Jetta like that. I can show you some that gave me ideas—"

"Jesse, slow down son. I'm sorry, but I can't come, I have work the next morning."

Jesse stared at the floor, trying not to let his disappointment show. "Yeah, of course. I should have check before assuming...it's not like I'll be racing or anything," he smiled, telling himself it was for the best. It was just that he wanted to share such an important part of his life with his old man...car had been their passion, and he wanted his dad to be proud of how much he'd learned over the years.

"You have fun out there, don't get in too much trouble," he dad smiled and slapped him on the shoulder affectionately before finishing up the end of his fries. "I don't suppose you could spot me twenty bucks? Our manager is kind of a tightfist, won't give us our pay 'till the last minute."

"Uh, sure dad," Jesse answered, fishing out twenty and adding another for lunch.

"Good boy," Benny grinned, slipping the bill into his pocket and winking at the waitress as she came for their check. "I'll pay you back as soon as I have it."

"Sure dad," Jesse repeated, not really that bothered about the cash but more worried about his father's steady employment and what it meant for his parole. "Is work okay though? Everything's going fine?"

"Oh yeah, everything's great, real good," his dad nodded, and Jesse tried really hard to believe him.


End file.
